The Pope should retire when...
Published March 30, 2005
Pope John Paul II won't step down until he has died. Or, so he says. Fine. But they should have a policy in place to force Popes to retire when they become far less effective, due to a decline in health.
Some will say that this Pope is a huge inspiration since he soldiers on and clearly tries to give it his best shot. Others will say that he is no longer an effective communicator and despite the Vataican's attempts to make us think that he's getting better, he will never be the same again.
I would simply say that he is far less effective a communicator than he has been, and far less of a communicator than what they will look for in his replacement.
What would happen if the Pope ended up like Terry Schiavo who is being starved to death? That they would do everything possible to keep him alive is obvious, but would they allow him to hold the position of Pope or would they retire him in favour of a new guy? I would imagine they already have such rules in place, but are these rules privy to only certain Vatican elite and does every rank and file member of the Catholic Church know what they are?
http://trinimansblog.blogspot.com/
Almost weekly, Triniman catches new movies, and adds one or two CDs to his collection. Due to time constraints, he blogs about only 5% of the CDs, books and DVDs that he purchases. Holed up in the geographic centre of North America, the cultural mecca of Canada, and the sunniest city north of the 49th, Winnipeg, Triniman blogs a bit when he's not swatting mosquitoes, shovelling snow or golfing.
- The Pope should retire when...
- Published: March 30, 2005
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Books: Spirituality, Culture: Religion
- Writer: Triniman
- Triniman's BC Writer page
- Triniman's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
the Traditional Rule that covers this has been in place for centuries..
a Cardinal enters the Pope's chambers and calls his Name three times..
if he doesn't answer..the Church considers him.."dead" and the Cardinals gather to select a new Pope
not that i would Wish it on the current occupant of St. Peter's Throne...but it wold be an interesting excercise in Church canonical Law to see what they would do in the case of ..say..a coma, where the Pontiff could not respond..but was kept alive due to modern medicine..
and yes..this bit of INfo is common knowledge, not held as any kind of "secret" but part of Vatican Law and Tradition..
hope that helps..
Excelsior!
Isn't the Pope really a great deal less troublesome if he's unable to speak? Maybe they should require all future Popes to be silent.
Dave
Dave, that's hilarious. That's really too much. I will sleep grinning tonight. Already past my bedtime...
can't speak and can't pee, what else is left?
i'm gonna run for pope. Certiainly the hat would suit me.
"it's an outstandingly tall hat"
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/27507)
Forcing the Pope to retire is an amusing idea, but wouldn't that be interfering with God's will? I'm not Catholic so I don't know but I presume that would be one of the arguments presented. What kind of retirement would a Pope go into though? I can't see him playing shuffleboard in Florida though maybe he'd love it. It's probably been ages since he's worn a pair of seersucker slacks.