Pope Francis has said that resigning pontiffs rather than ruling for life should not become a “fashion” in the Catholic Church, and should only happen in truly exceptional circumstances.
The comments, made in private conversations with fellow Jesuits during his recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, were a departure from previous statements in which Francis said longer life expectancy and medical improvements could make retired popes an institution. at church.
The newspaper La Stampa published the comments on Thursday (16) in an article by Father Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest based in Rome who attends the meetings and then writes about them with the pope’s permission.
On Feb. 2, in Kinshasa, Francis was asked about media reports that he might step down.
He repeated a comment first made to a Spanish newspaper in December that, several months after his election in 2013, he gave a Vatican official a letter of resignation to be used should he ever suffer from a serious medical condition that would render him permanently unconscious and unable to make decisions.
“This does not mean, however, in any way that the pope’s retirement should become, let’s say, a fad, a normal thing,” he said.
“I believe that the papal ministry should be for life. I see no reason why it should not be so. Historical tradition is important. If, instead, we listen to gossip, we will have to change the pope every six months, ”he said.
In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI, citing fragile physical and mental health, became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
He lived for almost 10 more years and, according to top aides, remained lucid until a few days before his death on December 31st.
Benedict continued to write and receive visitors, who sometimes revealed what he said, fueling a conservative and nostalgic Catholic faction unhappy with Francis’ papacy.
His nearly 10 years as pope emeritus was one of the most divisive periods in modern church history.
While Francis often compares having Benedict XVI living in the Vatican to having a grandfather at home, a book by Benedict’s closest aide has exposed tensions as two men dressed in white lived in the tiny city-state.
The tone of Francis’ comments to African Jesuits was in marked contrast to what Francis has used in the past when discussing the possible resignations of popes, including his own.
Returning from Canada last July, Francis said advancing age and illnesses, including a knee problem that requires him to use a cane and a wheelchair, made him realize he needed to slow down “or decide to walk away.”
In August, he said popes who resign are humble.
In 2014, Francis said that Benedict’s resignation a year earlier should not be seen as “a unique case” and that, by leaving office, Benedict had become “an institution that opened a door, the door of emeritus popes”.
In his conversation with African Jesuits this month, Francis said his own resignation on health grounds “is not on my agenda at the moment”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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