ROME (dpa) – A few years after setting the retirement age of priests and bishops at 75, one of Pope John Paul II’s predecessors, Paul VI (1963-1978), was stricken with arthritis and began to ponder the possibility of stepping down.
“I have fixed an age limit for bishops. Why should I be the exception?” Paul VI asked himself not long before suffering from a fatal heart attack.His answer, in the form of another question mark, was simple, yet vastly enlightening: “Can a pope possibly resign from fatherhood?”Unlike democratically-elected politicians, the Holy Father of the Roman Catholic Church is not appointed to merely perform a duty – he is the successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth. He responds directly to God, not men.In this respect, the words spoken by John Paul II over the weekend provided yet another clear answer to those who continue to speculate about a possible papal retirement.“Isn’t it He who has called us? Isn’t it always He we must announce with consistency and fidelity,” the pope told the faithful marking the feast day of St. Peter and Paul at the end of June.Later he thanked them for the support provided by “the incessant prayer of the people of God”.“In the moments of great difficulty and suffering, this spiritual force is real help and an intimate comfort,” he said.Such statements may not mean much to the layman. But they are highly revealing to those in the know.Vittorio Messori, a Vatican specialist who collaborated with the pope on his 1994 best-seller “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”, translated John Paul’s thoughts on the subject of papal resignation in the following, helpful, way:“The force to continue is not my problem but that of Christ, who wanted to call me, though unworthy, to be His vicar on earth. In his mysterious design, He has brought me here. And it will be He who decides my fate.”Messori’s paraphrasing of John Paul, published in a front page article in Il Corriere della Sera, brought no official response from the Vatican.This was hardly surprising, considering the pope’s own previous remarks on the subject.When asked in a recent interview whether the pope would resign, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina of Chile said the pope had compared the suggestion to the taunts of bystanders at the crucifixion who told Jesus to come down from the cross.The Holy See’s silence over Messori’s article also suggested the Vatican’s highest officials had endorsed its content.Speculation that John Paul may one day voluntarily retire – an event that last took place more than 700 years ago – has been fuelled by a number of statements from several leading cardinals, including the highly influential Joseph Ratzinger of Germany and Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a possible papal candidate.With the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and arthritis becoming increasingly visible, it has been suggested that the 82-year-old pontiff may one day chose to retire rather than see ill-health prevent him from fulfilling his duties.John Paul is no longer able to walk or stand for any length of time and his speeches are often blurred beyond comprehension.But those closest to him flatly reject the possibility that the Holy Father may willingly renounce looking after his flock.“John Paul II will never abandon the Church. It is the Lord who decides when it will be time for the pope to go,” Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, a compatriot and close friend of the pope’s, told the La Repubblica daily.“He taught others to be strong, and to never become discouraged. And as for himself, he never said no to whatever sacrifice in the name of the Lord,” Cardinal Deskur said of his illustrious friend.According to Cardinal Ersilio Tonini of Italy, the Church should even prepare itself for the possibility of having to deal with a pope who is confined to his bed.In late July, John Paul will embark on his 97th trip abroad – presiding over the Church’s World Youth Day in Toronto before moving on to Mexico and Guatemala. In August, he is scheduled to make his eighth visit to his native Poland.Despite his physicians’ repeated appeals for him to ease down his workload, all indications are that this pope will staunchly carry on in his mission, until the bitter end.
