Pope Francis says pontiffs are for life and resignations should not become a ‘fashion’
Pope Francis has made clear in comments published by a Jesuit journal that he believes being pope is a lifetime position and that the late Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation was an exception
Pope Francis has said that pontiffs resigning instead of ruling for life should be an exception and must not become a “fashion” in the Roman Catholic Church.
The comments, made in private conversations with fellow Jesuits during his recent trip to Democratic Republic of Congo, were a shift away from previous remarks in which Francis said that longer life spans and medical improvements could make retired popes an institution in the Church.
La Stampa published the comments in an article by Father Antonio Spadaro, a Rome-based Jesuit priest who attends the meetings and later writes about them afterwards with the pope's permission.
On 2 February in Kinshasa, Francis was asked about media reports that he could resign over his declining health.
In response, he repeated a previous comment that in 2013 he gave a Vatican official a resignation letter to be used in case he suffered a severe medical condition that would leave him permanently unconscious and unable to make decisions.
“This does not, however, in any way mean that popes retiring should become, let's say, a fashion, a normal thing,” he said.
“I believe that the papal ministry should be for life. I don't see a reason why it should not be this way ... historic tradition is important. If instead we listen to gossip, then we would have to change popes every six months,” he said.
Pope Benedict in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years, citing frail physical and mental health. He lived for nearly 10 more years, and, according to top aides, remained lucid until a few days before his death on 31 December.
The tone of Francis' comments to the African Jesuits was in a marked contrast to that which Francis used in the past when discussing the possible resignations of popes, including himself.
In 2014, Francis said the resignation of Benedict a year before should not be seen as “a unique case” and that by stepping down, Benedict had become “an institution who opened a door, the door of emeritus popes.”
Reuters