Pope Francis Is Going to Be 80 -- The Possibility of a Resignation

The Eponymous Flower ^ | December 17, 2016 | Roberto de Mattei

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The arrogant never choose to retire from a position of power, because they think themselves more important than the office.

Robert Mugabe, 92, the tyrant of Zimbabwe, has announced his plan to stand for president in 2018.

[Dr. Sivana]

"I have the feeling that my pontificate will be short, 4, 5 years. Perhaps it is not so, but I have the feeling that the Lord has set me up for a brief cause. But it is a feeling, so I leave all possibilities open. "

Obama made some noise about not running for re-election in his first term. It is just chatter. Read nothing in it.

[Unam Sanctam]

I think this Pope is very ideological. I don’t believe he would resign lightly, but will stay as long as possible to accomplish his Martinian reforms.

[stevem]

He has only been Pope for a little less than 4 years. Why does it feel like 4 centuries?

[stevem]

He has only been Pope for a little less than 4 years. Why does it feel like 4 centuries?

[Pontiac]

The answer concerns the foundations of morality and the Catholic faith. If what was valid yesterday is no longer valid today, then what is valid today, will not be valid tomorrow.

If, however, morality can change according to time and circumstances, the Church is destined to perish in the relativism of today's fluid society.

This is crux of the issue. Truth is timeless. What is fundamentally true today will be true tomorrow and will be true ten years or ten centuries from now.

What God has said is sin is sin today, is sin tomorrow and is sin forever.

The Episcopal Church, the Anglicans, the Methodist and many of the Liberal leaning churches have fallen in to this trap and are bleeding members. The Catholic Church has also seen dwindling attendance but not to the same degree.

The decline of the churches in my opinion is due to the church’s move to a humanistic approach to worship and moving away from a God centered worship.

What Pope Francis is doing with Amoris Laetitia extending humanism in to the institution of marriage and making the sin of adultery subject to individual conscience. (If the sin of adultery doesn’t bother my conscience it must be okay with God.)

Why would anyone need to go to church if all matters of sin are simply matters of personal whim?

[Gadsden1st]

The Pope will just declare himself to be 60 years old. Problem solved.

[Sgt_Schultze]

It was truly the emergence of Thatcher, Reagan and JP2 that powered a resurgent western revitalization. Who can be the complimentary piece along with Trump and LePen?

[ealgeone]

Apart from not counting on numbers to demonstrate the fidelity to the Gospel...,

sounds kinda like the catholic arguments, "how old is your church?" in a vain attempt to defend roman catholicism.

[piusv]

Pope Francis is crossing the threshold of 80: Ingravescentem aetatem (advanced age), as the motu proprio of 21 November 1970 by Paul VI declared, which, by reaching this age, requires all cardinals to put their tasks to an end, and deprives them of the right to participate in the conclave. Paul VI. established this rule to create a new "Montinian" curia. Moreover, he introduced a fundamental contradiction in the Church's more than a thousand years of practice.

I did not know this. Another first step in the slippery slope. All brought to you by the same man that promulgated the non-Catholic Vatican II. The common thread keeps popping up all over the place!

[NRx]

I hope I am wrong, but I seriously doubt he would step down for any reason short of some kind medical incapacitation. And it needs to be remembered that rather perversely, on this subject he has church tradition on his side.

[piusv]

And it needs to be remembered that rather perversely, on this subject he has church tradition on his side.

Yes, how ironic. He will use tradition when it suits him I'm sure.

[napscoordinator]

The last pope was the worst. I have been catholic since birth. Went to catholic grade school and high school. I knew the mass inside out. Now after all these years, I still have not memorized the new mass that last pope destroyed. I go to mass weekly with my family and the prayers and mass has changed. It’s a tragedy. I was hoping this pope would return the mass to normal but so far not happening.

[Zuriel]

Careful FRiend, the thin skinned (unlike Jesus Christ, who displayed utmost calm when in debate), will plead to (site) government to have you silenced.

It reminds me of the Jews going down to Caesarea to ask the governor to silence Paul.

[Zuriel]

Ha! Wasn’t it Burt Reynolds that wanted to drop ten years off his age back in the 70s because he felt younger than he thought he should at his actual age? I think he was wanting to have birth certificate changed, iirc.

[OldSmaj]

...But it is a feeling, so I leave all possibilities open. "

Well, we should all act upon our feelings, Mr. Pope...for instance, I feel that your political liberal pontificating has done damage to the Church.

Hopefully, it's not irreparable, but I feel that the sooner you are gone and your political liberal pontificating is gone with you, then a lot of folks will feel better.

So...don't let the door...well, you know.

[cloudmountain]

This is crux of the issue. Truth is timeless. What is fundamentally true today will be true tomorrow and will be true ten years or ten centuries from now.
What God has said is sin is sin today, is sin tomorrow and is sin forever.
The Episcopal Church, the Anglicans, the Methodist and many of the Liberal leaning churches have fallen in to this trap and are bleeding members. The Catholic Church has also seen dwindling attendance but not to the same degree.
The decline of the churches in my opinion is due to the church’s move to a humanistic approach to worship and moving away from a God centered worship.
What Pope Francis is doing with Amoris Laetitia extending humanism in to the institution of marriage and making the sin of adultery subject to individual conscience. (If the sin of adultery doesn’t bother my conscience it must be okay with God.)
Why would anyone need to go to church if all matters of sin are simply matters of personal whim?

All true.
The Catholic Church, founded by Jesus, will survive and thrive. Maybe it won't thrive here but there are places in the world where it does.
All good people KNOW that the "absolutes" are essential BECAUSE they are timeless. Most societies have had the same kinds of morality, always.

Then there are those societies where, for example, abortion is legal and moral. THAT is sad.

[scrabblehack]

Even post-Paul tradition: John Paul II 84, Benedict XVI 85 (at abdication)...even Paul VI himself 80+.

[Biggirl]

Altough Pope Francis did mentioned at the end of the recent World Youth Day gathering in Poland this year that he will not be attending the next which will be in Panama.