Vatican official's comment reignites debate over papal resignation

Published: 2005-02-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a top Vatican official said papal resignation should be left to the "conscience" of Pope John Paul II, it reignited a debate that has been smoldering for many years. Inside and outside the Vatican, prelates and lay experts have fallen into two camps: those who think the pope would resign if he felt he could not lead the church, and those who say it will never happen -- that the pontiff has clearly decided to stay at the church's helm until God takes him. With a weakened pope in the hospital for flu-related breathing problems, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, was asked Feb. 7 by reporters if he thought the pope would consider resigning. The interesting thing was that Cardinal Sodano didn't duck or dismiss the question. Instead, he gave an answer that appeared to recognize resignation as an eventual possibility. After praising the pope's love for the church and his wisdom, the cardinal said simply: "We have to have enormous trust in him. He knows what he should do." For the media and church officials, that was enough to start the wheels turning. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation for Bishops, issued what sounded like a rebuke to Cardinal Sodano when he told an Italian news agency Feb. 8 that it was "in bad taste" to even talk about papal resignation. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Congregation for Clergy, said in a radio interview that while any resignation decision belonged to the pope, now was not the time to talk about it, since Pope John Paul was firmly in control.

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