Re: A question for the Catholics, but other Christians can chime in with their though
Hi Phyllis —
I just heard that the pope is stepping down at the end of the month and I was wondering about how this affects the Catholic Church.
As you will have heard, the Pope 'sprang' the news on everyone.
As Radarmark says, the process is in place for the election of a new pope, but I'm pretty certain that had the pope said, "Look guys, I'm failing fast here ..." then the Vatican bureaucracy would have started throwing up all manner of reasons why 'we should not rush into things' / 'easter's coming' ... and they'd have done their best to keep him in place until he dropped in his tracks.
I know what rituals come into play if the Pontiff dies, but what about if he resigns?
We'll have to make up some new ones! No ... seriously ...
Also, would this affect Lent/Easter?
No, shouldn't ... but it does give us something to reflect on, I suppose.
I apologize for the stupid questions...
Not stupid at all. I'm sure there's scores of Curia administrators meeting in offices wondering what the heck to do ... I mean, does he just walk away? Does he hand over the papal regalia? To whom? Who gets the popemobile? Where's he going to live? Does he carry on like any other cardinal? Actually, there's a lot of questions...
When you hear about the cardinals entering 'the secret conclave' to elect a new pope, just recall that the tradition began in the Middle Ages when they met for days, and couldn't agree on a candidate. Meetings were held between hunting trips, sightseeing trips, days off ...
The villagers roundabouts got thoroughly hacked off they barricaded the cardinals inside the hall where they had gathered to cast their vote. When that didn't work, they put the cardinals on a diet of bread and water. When that didn't work, they removed the roof and opened the hall to the elements ... that seemed to do the trick ... I can't remember when this all happened, but I can track it down if you want. That's the origin of the tradition.
Apparently, St Peter's Basilica was struck by lightning in a thunder storm last night ... so no doubt there's a few of us wondering whether BXVI has made the right decision, or whether the Big Man is saying Benedict should have told Him first!
On a more serious note, I'm not against the election of an older pope per se, John XXIII was older than BXVI when he took office and announced, to everyone's consternation, that he wanted a Council 'to throw open the windows' (and thus Vatican II). I do hope however that this brings an end to the tradition of pope's dying in office. The sight of JP-II crumbling away was hardly edifying.
As for who will follow? JP-II and BXVI were both conservatives ... will we get a more liberal pope? A non-European pope? Who can tell ...
God bless
Thomas
