He governs by the consent of the Catholic people I presume. If they decide to not listen to him and start listening to someone else; that would be the equivalent of removing him.
It would be better if he stepped down though. He has been the worst Pope in my lifetime.
Not really.
And the Roman Catholic has to listen to the pope and do what he says per Unam Sanctam.
“He governs by the consent of the Catholic people I presume.”
I’m not catholic; but it’s my understanding that the Pope is God’s representative here in earth and thereby rules by the consent of God. I’ll leave it to Catholics to correct me if I’m wrong.
RE: government is by consent of the governed
That is the kernel of it. A leader ultimately depends on the people he governs to do what he says. Francis’ power has diminished to a tiny fragment of its former self. It could come to the point where the papal household might even hand him over to secular authorities, or threaten to do so. I think that is what precipitated the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, who was defiant only days before. In the end, it doesn’t really matter whether canon law has an avenue to remove him. He is going down!