Vatican's No. 2 says decision to resign would be up to pope

Published: 2005-02-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After asking prayers for a hospitalized Pope John Paul II, the Vatican's No. 2 official said the question of eventual papal resignation was something that must be left to "the pope's conscience." Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, responded Feb. 7 to reporters who asked whether the pope had considered resigning in view of his health problems. "Let's leave this to the pope's conscience. If there is a man in the church who is guided by the Holy Spirit, if there is a man who loves the church, if there is a man with marvelous wisdom, it's the pope," the cardinal told reporters Feb. 7. "We have to have enormous trust in him. He knows what he should do," the cardinal added. Cardinal Sodano's remarks were somewhat unusual, since most Vatican officials refuse to even discuss the possibility of papal resignation. Cardinal Sodano did not say resignation was an active hypothesis for the pope, who was being treated for respiratory problems in a Rome hospital. In fact, only a few minutes earlier, the cardinal had expressed the hope that Pope John Paul's pontificate would run longer than that of Pope Pius IX, who ruled for more than 31 years. "In his 26 years of papacy, the pope has left us a luminous teaching legacy. Let us pray that this teaching continues for many years. Pope Pius IX governed the church for 32 years, and let us pray that John Paul II passes that mark," he said.

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