Who governs the Holy See when Pope Francis is unable to do so? This question is being asked as the 88-year-old pope, suffering from pneumonia, is hospitalized for an increasingly long period of time.
“Complete rest” is what Pope Francis' doctors have prescribed for their patient, who has double pneumonia. A difficult order for the Pope, who has a reputation for working non-stop, sometimes at the expense of his vacations.
"Life goes on"
“The Pope is tireless; only the doctors can make him rest,” confirmed Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and close advisor to Francis, in the columns of the Italian daily La Repubblica.
In his room on the 10th floor of the main building of the Gemelli Hospital, Francis has been alternating between prayer, rest, and reading newspapers for the past six days. According to a Vatican source, he’s also studying some working documents that his collaborators have sent him. Some say certain bishop appointments have been made possible because of the work the Pope is doing at the hospital.
In any case, the Holy See continues to function. Several officials have continued their travels: Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin spent four days in Burkina Faso to celebrate 125 years of evangelization in the country; Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, is currently in Lebanon to bring the Pope's support to the country's inhabitants; and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the linchpin of Vatican diplomacy, was at the security conference in Munich all weekend.
“Life goes on,” says a Vatican official. “Everyone is continuing their work as usual.”
However, a certain number of decisions cannot be taken without the Pope's approval. This is the case, for example, with the appointment of a bishop or the publication of important documents produced by the Curia's dicasteries. “Some appointments, in particular, have been brought forward,” said a Holy See official.
Similarly, without the Pope's intervention, issues of importance to the life of the Church may be delayed.
A canonical gray area
From a canonical point of view, things are very clear in the event of a pope's death. Power would then be entrusted, during the period of vacancy, to the Camerlengo, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell. The latter would then take charge of current affairs until the election of the new pope.
But canon law does not provide for everything, especially once a pope falls ill and has to be hospitalized.
“The Pope remains the Pope even in the hospital, regardless of his health,” says a canon lawyer who has worked at the highest level on the issue of papal incapacity.
“In the present case, the Pope remains able to delegate. And if a prefect or other Curia official has a message for him, he can go through the Secretariat of State as usual, and his request will be forwarded to the pontiff,” the canonist assures us.
The Holy See is currently pointing out that the Pope is conscious, despite the intense treatment he has been given (particularly cortisone). According to a Vatican source, he participated in the drafting of the text published by the Vatican on Sunday for the Angelus.
The Pope's letter of resignation
The situation would be quite different if he were to fall into a coma or suffer from chronic mental incapacity. The Holy See would then be in a legal impasse, because only the Pope can decide to renounce, and no one has the power to “remove” him.
It is with this in mind that Pope Francis — like Pius XII and Paul VI before him — has written a letter of resignation. This document, handed to one of his closest collaborators at the beginning of his pontificate, and after authentication by the College of Cardinals, should theoretically make it possible to end the pontificate in the event that Francis is no longer able to do so. However, the validity of such a procedure is still debated among canonists, with some jurists questioning the validity of such an act.
But the problem remains in the event that the Pope's ability to govern is uncertain.
“There’s a nuance between a situation of total impediment, which is clearly defined by canon law — this is the case where the Pope simply cannot express himself — and a situation of simple impediment, in which it remains up to the Pope to decide whether or not he is able to govern,” analyzes the canonist. “This gray area is the consequence of the Pope's total freedom and the plenary power attached to his mission,” he explains.
