Pope Francis resignation

2022 - 6 - 7

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Is Pope Francis nearing the end of his pontificate? (The Washington Post)

VATICAN CITY — The pain became obvious five months ago, when Pope Francis first started avoiding standing up. “An inflamed ligament in the knee,” the pope ...

But within Vatican bureaucracy, just as crucial is the way Francis has changed the body of cardinals that will one day select his replacement. And relative to periods under previous pontiffs, the so-called College of Cardinals has been gathering less frequently during Francis’s tenure — a trend that was in place even before the pandemic. Ivereigh met with Francis recently and did not come away with the sense that a resignation is imminent. Ivereigh said Francis had a difficult experience with anesthesia related to his colon operation and so is adamant about avoiding surgery on his knee. “What is clear is that his pontificate has entered the declining final phase” where resignation becomes more feasible, said Massimo Faggioli, a Villanova University professor of theology. “I think this sort of chatter is inevitable,” said Austen Ivereigh, a Francis biographer. And while the pope’s dependence on a wheelchair is a fundamental factor in the speculation, it has been amplified by his decision to call a consistory for Aug. 27 and install 21 new cardinals, including 16 younger than 80 who would be eligible to vote in a conclave. Unlike when John Paul II began using a wheelchair because of Parkinson’s disease, Francis still has his faculties. Popes don’t normally call for consistories at the end of summer, when Rome is still in vacation shutdown mode. And the pope has scheduled a trip to the central Italian city of L’Aquila, where he’ll visit a basilica that hosts the tomb of Celestine V, one of the few popes to resign. But by late April, he said his right knee was “still not healing.” Soon after, he was using a wheelchair. Francis is still hoping that rest can restore his mobility.

3 signs Pope Francis might be preparing to resign (The Week Magazine)

Pope Francis' health issues, new appointments to the College of Cardinals, and a planned visit to the tomb of Pope Celestine V have all fueled speculation ...

Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, who is the only new cardinal from the United States and shares Francis' position of allowing pro-choice politicians to receive the Eucharist, provides a good example. This allows popes to shape and utilize the college "according to their own best judgement." On the other hand, the cardinals haven't gathered in Vatican City since 2020. Condon warns that the pope's appointments could turn the college into a "decidedly more political" institution. The next consistory is scheduled for August and will overlap with the pope's visit to Celestine's tomb. Colleen Dulle and Gerard O'Connell, who host America magazine's Inside the Vatican podcast, observed that, in selecting this latest flock of cardinals, Francis generally "passed over 'cardinalatial sees,' big cities where the bishop has often been named a cardinal, in favor of bishops from underrepresented communities." Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote in papal elections. Their main duty is to elect a new pope when the incumbent dies or resigns. If Francis is signaling his intent to resign as well, it would go a long way toward setting a new precedent. First, to avoid another years-long deadlock, his successor decreed that the cardinals be locked up together until a new pope is chosen. Second, he established the precedent that popes are allowed to resign voluntarily. In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, the poet places Celestine in hell and describes him as "the craven one, who made the great denial."

Will Pope Francis resign? (The Week UK)

Italian and Catholic media have been “rife with unsourced speculation” that the 85-year-old Francis could be preparing to quit the role, from which pontiffs ...

Benedict also visited the tomb in 2009, leaving behind his pallium stole. Two days after the consistory Pope Francis has also invited all cardinals in Rome to discuss the new Vatican constitution, which has been “nine years in the works”, said the paper. The new cardinals will be officially appointed in Rome at a consistory on 27 August, by which time Francis will have named 83 of the 132 cardinal electors, thereby “raising the chances” they will pick a successor ready to push on with his papal agenda and “mercy before dogma” policies, said The Times.

Pope Francis' summer plans spark fresh resignation rumours (The Independent)

The pope will travel to the Italian city of L'Aquila for the Perdonanza Celestiniana festival and visit the tomb of Pope Celestine V, who issued a decree ...

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

Is Pope Francis about to hand in his resignation? Who is the Pontiff ... (NationalWorld)

The Pope was appointed to the Vatican in 2013 after his predecessor Pope Benedict retired due to 'advanced age'. By Sarah McCann. Wednesday, 8th June 2022, ...

Speculation about its invalidity is simply absurd.” He was the first Pope to retire since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He is the first ever Pontiff from the America’s and the first to come from the southern hemisphere. He was selected as Pope Benedict’s successor in 2013 and adopted the name Francis, in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. He became Pope in 2013, after replacing Pope Benedict who is one of only five Popes in the history of the Catholic Church to resign. The Pope has fuelled rumours by announcing that he will attend a feast in August initiated by a 13th-century Pope who resigned.

Is Pope Francis retiring? Media in a tizzy but experts remain sceptical (Firstpost)

The announcement that Pope Francis would visit the central Italian city of L'Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few ...

White added that one of the things Francis wanted to do, should Benedict die before him, was institute reforms on the role a retired pope should play. State broadcaster TRT World said googling Turkey brings up a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with the North American bird. But four years later, the 85-year-old Benedict would follow in Celestine’s footsteps and resign, saying he no longer had the strength of body and mind to carry on the rigors of the papacy. Calling a major consistory in late August to create new cardinals, gathering churchmen for two days of talks on implementing his reform and making a symbolically significant pastoral visit suggests Francis might have out-of-the-ordinary business in mind. The Vatican announced Saturday Francis would visit L’Aquila to celebrate Mass on 28 August and open the “Holy Door” at the basilica hosting Celestine’s tomb. Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, noted that most Vatican watchers expect Francis will eventually resign, but not before Benedict dies. “He’s not going to have two former popes floating around,” Bellitto said in an email. Sixteen of those cardinals are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect Francis’ successor. Why is the Italian media in a tizzy? That document, which goes into effect Sunday, allows women to head Vatican offices, imposes term limits on priestly Vatican employees and positions the Holy See as an institution at the service of local churches, rather than vice versa. In 2009, Benedict visited L’Aquila, which had been devastated by a recent earthquake and prayed at Celestine’s tomb, leaving his pallium stole on it. One side of his colon was removed, as per Catholic News Agency.

Why is everyone talking about Pope Francis' trip to L'Aquila? (Malaysian Christian News)

What does L'Aquila have to do with papal resignations? The city in central Italy is the burial place of Pope Celestine V, who led the Catholic Church for just ...

In a 2014 interview, he said that “Benedict is the first and maybe there will be others. Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of L’Aquila said that Francis will be the first pope to open the holy door for 728 years. After his election in 2013, Pope Francis praised Benedict XVI’s decision to resign. The visit’s official schedule does not mention the tomb of Celestine V or — unsurprisingly — anything to do with a papal resignation. When Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign in almost 600 years in 2013, Vatican-watchers recalled that he had visited the tomb of Celestine V years earlier. Following the trip, he will meet with members of the College of Cardinals to discuss the new Vatican constitution, which came into effect on June 5.