Posted on 06/02/2002 1:18:09 PM PDT by Siobhan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II was healthy, talk of papal resignation was taboo.
Now, as the 82-year-old pontiff struggles with his physical frailty, even top aides like Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the doctrinal congregation, are discussing the possibility that the pope may one day choose to step down.
Cardinal Ratzinger's comments in mid-May and those of other church leaders have given rise to a rash of resignation scenarios. The most-discussed theory hinges on the pope's planned visit to Poland in August.
Some people think the pope has in mind a one-way trip to his homeland. Under this scenario, he would announce his resignation in his former diocese of Krakow and retire to a Polish monastery to pray. In August, the number of voting members of the College of Cardinals coincidentally falls to 120 -- the upper limit set by conclave rules.
There's not much on the announced papal calendar after August, with the exception of a possible trip to Croatia in September. Vatican officials, aware of the resignation talk, recently emphasized that the Croatia trip was indeed in preparation.
Others believe the pope, who suffers from a debilitating neurological disease believed to be Parkinson's, has accepted the idea of eventual resignation but has not set a date. He will keep going until he cannot go any further, they say.
Because Parkinson's normally leads to physical incapacity, some sources have said it is likely the pope has prepared a resignation letter in case that happens. Pope Paul VI wrote a similar letter, according to a recent book by his secretary, Archbishop Pasquale Macchi.
The purpose of such a letter would be to avoid administrative paralysis of the church if a pontiff were debilitated -- perhaps suddenly -- and could not express his decision to resign.
But this kind of letter also would raise ambiguities, because any resignation by the pope must be his own decision. He cannot be "resigned" by others.
"Who is going to say to him: 'Holy Father, you are now incapacitated?' That's the problem," said Msgr. Charles Burns, a church historian who spent more than 25 years as an official of the Vatican Archives.
Church law explicitly allows for a pope to resign, but says the decision must be made freely and "duly manifested." Experts say this means in writing or with witnesses; ideally, it would be communicated to the College of Cardinals -- although no one needs to formally accept a pope's resignation for it to be valid.
Most Vatican officials agree that Pope John Paul has made his physical suffering an integral part of his papal ministry, giving his pontificate an added poignancy and a different kind of impact in recent years.
"The pope is operating under limitations that are visible to all. But he notes the big show of affection wherever he goes, and this encourages him," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said during a May trip to Bulgaria, where the pope moved and spoke with great difficulty during his public events.
But although many agree on the pope's courage in the face of physical trials, people at the Vatican and throughout the church appear divided on the resignation issue.
Cardinal Ratzinger said the pope has an "iron will" and is still able to manage church affairs. But "if he were to see that he absolutely could not (continue), then he certainly would resign," he said.
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa also said he was sure the pope would have the courage to resign if he believed that, for the good of the church, a healthier man were needed in the papacy.
Because the remarks by both cardinals were reported the same day, it came across in the media almost as a lobbying campaign. But like many things at the Vatican, it was less planned than it appeared; the cardinals were simply asked the question by reporters in separate interviews.
Others have voiced the opposite view.
"The pope is not some kind of manager who, when he grows weak or sick, is set aside because he can't manage the interests of the company," said Krysztof Zanussi, an award-winning Polish film director who currently is making a documentary on the pope.
The last and perhaps the only pope who voluntarily resigned was St. Celestine V, who abdicated in 1294 after only four months in office. His "great refusal" earned him a place in the vestibule of Dante's "Inferno," but history has viewed him as a truly holy man who rejected the political machinations of the medieval papacy.
In more recent times, Msgr. Burns said, there was evidence to suggest that Pope Pius XII had left instructions that if the Nazis arrested him during World War II, the College of Cardinals was to consider him resigned and elect a new pope. The idea was that, if the Nazis marched him off to Berlin, it would be as Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli and not as Pope Pius XII.
Health questions are trickier, but have been overcome by previous pontiffs. Pope Clement XII became totally blind in the second year of his pontificate, in 1732, and in later years conducted audiences and ran the church's affairs from his bed.
"They had to put his hand on the documents, and then he scrawled his signature," Msgr. Burns said.
Church historians have sometimes marveled that modern popes have escaped the kind of serious mental deterioration often endured by the elderly.
"We've been spared that. We've been spared an awful lot," said Msgr. Burns. He and several other Vatican officials emphasized that Pope John Paul's problems are physical, not mental.
"He seems to be sharp as a tack. Maybe the day will come when he gives a big sigh and says, 'I just can't do it any longer.' But at the moment he's still determined to continue," he said.
The Vatican doesn't release autopsy results, on any pope.
Men in their sixties do die of heart attacks.
And everything is not a conspiracy.
I'm not catholic, but I have a tremendous amount of affection for this pope, I pray that God grants him relief and comfort.
I read the book and I think it makes an excellent charcoal starter. The Abbe de Nantes (Catholic Counter Reformation in the 20th Century)also thinks he was murdered. So, from the non-Catholic left to the extreme, insane, schismatic right, common ground can be found and comrades can embrace and unity of thought can be acheived - as long as the common enemy is the Papacy.
BTW, I know longer have the book but I recall MANY factual errors in the book
1. During the vacancy of the Apostolic See, the College of Cardinals has no power or jurisdiction in matters which pertain to the Supreme Pontiff during his lifetime or in the exercise of his office, such matters are to be reserved completely and exclusively to the future Pope. I therefore declare null and void any act of power or jurisdiction pertaining to the Roman Pontiff during his lifetime or in the exercise of his office which the College of Cardinals might see fit to exercise, beyond the limits expressly permitted in this Constitution.
Long live potatos??
"Ich bin Ein Berliner"
I am a jelly donut.
We close our eyes at our own peril.
The Holy Father needs prayers not speculation on his retirement. I have a very visceral reaction to anyone trying to usher John Paul II out the door. In due time he will be known as John Paul the Great and perhaps St. John Paul the Great.I'd say his canonization is a virtual certainty. Even though I'm no longer a Catholic, I'd say he's one of the great men of the 20th Century. Reagan, Thatcher, and John Paul II were key players in destroying one of the great evils of our time, and doing so without fighting a shooting war.
That said, it's noteworthy that if he was still Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, he would be, at 82, no longer elgible to vote in Papal elections. His physical health is clearly very bad, and it's not a stretch to believe that the work he does he does at great physical cost.
If his mind is still sound (many reports say it is), the decision should be up to him. But perhaps those who care about the man should state that he's done his part, done it well, and there is no shame in stepping down to a more restful and contemplative life.
-Eric
I was referencing the author of the book as non-Catholic (which he is) and the Abbe de Nantes as representative of the insane, schismatic right and how they find common ground in their opposition to this Papacy. For the Abbe de Nantes, he is opposed to every Pope since Pius XII except for John Paul I who, the rumor-mongers say, was a living Saint that would have ended all corruption on Earth if only he hadn't been murdered by the evil, money-grubbing Curia made up of sodomites and Masons and Satanists.
I was not referring to you as either a non-Catholic or a schismatic nut. I replied to you because you cited that book which is a hodge-podge of innuendoes, rumors, dark hints, intrigue and all mannner of film noir cinema script clippings. It is useful for inflaming charcoal and the imaginations of those predisposed to think that Rome makes Byzantium seem, by comparison, as honest, straighforward and unassuming as Gary Cooper.
I bought the thing at a used book sale and read it and I treated it in the manner once suggested in a book review by Dorothy Parker; "This is not a book to be cast aside lightly. It should be tossed with great force."
Ignoring a gossip-mongering book penned by a tendentious non-Catholic does not equate to keeping our eyes closed
Ha! If you want to see Catholic tin-foil hat wearing, do a search for Veronica Leukin, a.k.a., the seer of Bayside. Wild stuff.
Surely you can't be so naive as to believe that all priests are holy and good by virtue of ordination? The recent scandals should serve to correct that erroneous belief. But even so, let's say some of these corrupt individuals did start out with good intentions. The money, the power, the prestige, the opportunity for sex, you name it,they faltered and fell. It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to understand that men who are at risk of losing everything will go to any lengths possible to prevent it. That's not even factoring in the element of evil, which in my mind, is well established within Christ's Church. I am not willing to engage in spin and denial in order to defend some of the ludicrous statements and inaction that has come out of Rome as of late.
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