Pope’s renunciation – Wikipedia

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The renunciation of the pope is provided for in Canon 332 paragraph 2 of the Code of Canonian Law: “If it happens that the Roman pontiff renounces his charge, he is required for the validity that the renunciation is made freely and that it is duly manifested, but not that it is accepted by anyone” and in Canon 44 paragraph 2 of the cannons code of oriental churches. The only condition for the renunciation to be valid is that it is made “Freely and manifests itself correctly” .

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Following the renunciation begins a period of vacancy from the papal seat, which ends with the appointment of a new pope with a conclave of cardinals.

Since the beginnings of the papacy, 10 popes have exercised their right to renunciation, the last being Benoît XVI , the .

The canonical law in force, promulgated by the magisterium, does not specify a person or a body to whom the Pope should announce his renunciation [ Note 1 ] , leaving the possibility of doing so in the church or the world in general. But some commentators [ first ] believe that the college of cardinals or at least its dean must be informed in the first place, because the cardinals must be absolutely certain that the Pope has renounced his pontifical ministry before they could validly proceed to the election of a successor [ 2 ] , [ 3 ] .

For Alain Boureau and Corinne Péneau, the abdication of the pope raises a theological question: the election of the pope taking place according to the Catholic tradition under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the resignation of the vicar of Christ would question the power of this saint -Mind [ 4 ] . Reacting to analyzes of this type, the canonist Carlo Fantapi recalls that canon law has always distinguished the person and the charge, and criticizes the “coarse errors that have been made even by representatives of the university world” [ 5 ] .

Name n O Portrait Start of the pontificate and renunciation Information
Pontien 18 Pope Pontian.jpg 230
Deported to mines in Sardinia by emperor Maximin le Thrace, Pontien gives up his episcopal seat To allow the election of a new bishop of Rome – this is the first date attested in the history of the papacy [ 6 ] .
Martin I is seventy three Pope Martin I.jpg
655 		Deported to Tauric dear by the constant emperor II, Martin I is would have approved, or at least would not have condemned the election of his successor Eugène I is , which can be interpreted as a renunciation [ 7 ] .
Benoît in 132 Scherbe vom Grab Benedikt V.jpg
Tabled by Emperor Otton I is , Benoît V does not defend himself and, according to the columnist Liutprand de Crémone, strips himself of his pontifical badges [ 7 ] .
John XVIII 141 Ioannes XVII (XVIII).jpg 1003
June or

We know that he dies simple monk of Saint-Paul-Hors-les-Murs at the end of June or in . It is unclear if he has been deposited or if he has given up his charge, voluntarily or under the constraint of Patrice Jean Crescentius [ 8 ] .

Sylvestre 3 146 Pope Sylvester III – Nuremberg chronicles f 188v 1.jpg 13 or

Elected pope by a part of the Romans after Benoît IX was driven from the city, Sylvestre III is excommunicated by the latter. A few months later, an arrangement was found according to which the two candidates for the papacy give up their claims. Sylvestre III runs into and is formally filed with the Synod of Sutri [ 8 ] .

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Benoît IX 147 Benoit IX.jpg
Benoît IX is suitable, against a financial advantage, to give up the papacy. It is his uncle, Pope Grégoire VI, who succeeds him after having convinced him to give up his charge for reasons that remain obscure [ 9 ] . He will finally be excommunicated for Simonie.
Grégoire VI 148 B Gregor VI.jpg

Grégoire VI, sometimes quoted as a resigning, was deposited in 1046 for Simonia at the instigation of the King of the Romans Henri III [ ten ] .

Célestin V 192 Celestine V Castel Nuovo Napoli n02.jpg
Célestin V, a Benedictine hermit close to spiritual Franciscans [ 11 ] , is elected at 85 years old. He abandoned his charge after five months of pontificate [ twelfth ] , perhaps manipulated by Charles II of Anjou [ 11 ] . His renunciation triggers controversy on the canonical legitimacy of abdication.
Grégoire XII 205 Gregory XII.jpg
Grégoire XII who, as part of what will be called the Great Western Schism , is forced to resign during the conciliatory push of the Council of Constance in 1415, like the antipape John XXIII [ 13 ] .
Benoît XVI 265 Benedykt XVI (2010-10-17) 4.jpg
The , Benoît XVI announces his renunciation for health reasons [ 14 ] .
Benoît XVI Grégoire XII Célestin V Grégoire VI Benoît IX Sylvestre III Jean XVIII Benoît V Martin Ier Pontien

Supposed conditional renunciations not followed by effect [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Before leaving to crowd Napoleon I is In Paris, in 1804, Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) signed a renunciation document which will take effect if it is imprisoned in France [ 3 ] .

During the Second World War, Pius XII would have drawn up a document indicating that, if he was removed by the Nazis, he had to be considered as having given up his seat and that the cardinals had to flee to Portugal, neutral country, to elect a successor [ 15 ] .

Paul VI had planned to give up in the event of incurable or long -lasting infirmity which would prevent him from sufficiently fulfilling his functions as a pope; He had planned a letter of renunciation, 13 years before his death, if he came to give up [ 16 ] .

According to a press article [ 17 ] , John Paul II, in the years preceding his death in 2005, had planned to give up because of his failing health [ 18 ] . These claims were denied by the Vatican [ 19 ] .

Even in the event that the action of the Holy See is completely hampered, no innovation should be brought in the governance of the Universal Church and the special laws adopted, for these circumstances, must be observed [ 20 ] , [ 21 ] . Catholic canonical law does not provide for the possibility that a Pope is temporarily or definitively unfit for health reasons, an attempted assassination or captivity; Likewise, he does not indicate which person or which organization or which group has the power to certify that the Pope is completely prevented from exercising his functions [ 22 ] .

The “emeritus pope” Benoît XVI.

When resigning, Benoît XVI chose to wear the title of “Pope Emeritus”. This title is not provided for by any legislation of the Catholic Church.

This choice of title was the subject of discussions between theologians and canonists. A few days after the announcement of the resignation of Benedict XVI, Manuel Jesus Arba, professor of canon law at the Pontifical University of Lateran, said that “Legally, there is only one pope; A “emeritus pope” cannot exist ” [ 23 ] .

At the beginning of , the Jesuit Gianfranco Ghirlanda, former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University and professor of canon law at the same university, in a long article published in the pages of Catholic civilization , expressed the same opinion, and concluded that “He who renounces the pontifical ministry, although he obviously remains a bishop, is no longer a pope because he loses all primatial power who did not come from episcopal consecration but directly from Christ by the acceptance of a legitimate election” [ 24 ] .

During the press conference on the plane which brought him back to Rome after his trip to Korea in 2014, Pope Francis spoke on the issue. “It is not the only emeritus pope, but it is the first for centuries”. For him, Benoît is part of the tradition of the “emeritus bishops” [ 25 ] , which are more and more numerous in favor of the increase in life expectancy, and it took him “humility” and “courage” to make this “beautiful gesture of nobility” which consists of resign because of his age. “I think that the notion of” emeritus pope “is already an institution […] confirmed by Pope Benoît XVI. I repeat: maybe some theologians will say that it is not true, but I think they are wrong. The centuries will tell us. […] Benoît XVI opened an institutional door, not exceptional ” [ 26 ] .

The name reserved for the “emeritus pope” remains “his holiness”. He retains his pontifical name and white cassock, without a camail or white belt. The coat of arms remains unchanged. The emeritus pope does not wear traditional red shoes.

Notes [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

  1. ↑ The term “abdication” is not used in official church documents, although the Pope is also a reigning sovereign. The French translation of the apostolic constitution The universe dominic of the flock (February 22, 1996) Once the word “resignation” and once the word “renunciation” once. During that of Benoît XVI, the media first use the term “resignation” then that of “renunciation”, on the advice of specialists in canonical law.

References [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

  1. ↑ Prompt Library canonical, juridical, moral, theological, as well as ascetic, polemic, rubricistica, historical de Lucius Ferraris
  2. ↑ Beal, Coriden et Green 2001, p. 438.
  3. ↑ a et b Ecclesiastical abdication – Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
  4. ↑ Alain Boureau and Corinne Péneau, The mourning of power: tests on the abdication , Paris, the beautiful letters, , 204 p. (ISBN  978-2-251-38121-3 )
  5. ↑ Carlo fancies, Papacy, seat vacancy and “emeritus pope”. Equivocal to avoid , quoted by Sandro Magister, Chiesa site, the espresso
  6. ↑ Jean-Pierre Martin, “Pontien”, in Philippe Levillain (s. Dir.), Historical dictionary of the papacy , Paris, 2003, p. 1377.
  7. ↑ a et b Guyotjeannin 1994, p. 1443.
  8. ↑ a et b Guyotjeannin 1994, p. 1444.
  9. ↑ (in) F. Donald Logan, A history of the church in the Middle Ages , Routledge, p. 103.
  10. ↑ Yves-Marie Hilaire (dir.), History of the papacy. 2000 years of mission and tribulations , ed. Tallandier, 2003, p. 173
  11. ↑ a et b Claude Carrozzi (you.), Living in society in the Middle Ages: Christian West WE It is – XV It is century , ed. University of Provence, 2008, p. 294
  12. ↑ Yves-Marie Hilaire (dir.), History of Papacy: 2000 years of mission and tribulations , ed. Tallandier, 2003, p. 211.
  13. ↑ Yves-Marie Hilaire (dir.), History of the papacy. 2000 years of mission and tribulations , ed. Tallandier, 2003, p. 248-249.
  14. ↑ Pope Benoît XVI declaration , Fr.radiovaticana.va (Vatican Radio), February 11, 2013.
  15. ↑ (in) Nick and Simon Caldwell Squires , ‘ Vatican planned to move to Portugal if Nazis captured wartime Pope » , The Daily Telegraph , ( read online )
  16. ↑ (in) ‘ Resignation letter prepared by Blessed Paul VI published » , on National Catholic Reporter , (consulted the )
  17. ↑ (in) Cardinal Hints that Ailing Pope May ReSIGN (a cardinal refers to the fact that the suffering pope could resign) – The Telegraph (08 February 2005)
  18. ↑ “Benoît XVI had twice mentioned the hypothesis of a resignation” , The world , February 11, 2013.
  19. ↑ John Paul II would be fine
  20. ↑ ‘ Canonical Law Review: Code of Canon Law of 1983 » , on www.drootcanon.com (consulted the ) : “Can. 335 – When the seat of Rome becomes vacant or completely prevented, nothing should be innovated in the government of the whole Church; The special laws brought for these circumstances will then be observed ”
  21. ↑ ‘ Oriental churches cannons: text – intratext ct » , on www.intratext.com (consulted the ) : “47 When the seat of Rome is vacant or completely prevented, nothing will be innovated in the government of the entire Church; But the special laws brought for these circumstances will be observed. »»
  22. ↑ (in) The Code of Canon Law Annotated (Wilson & Lafleur Limited, Montreal 1993 (ISBN  2-89127-232-3 ) ), note on canon 335.
  23. ↑ Quote reported by: Sandro Magister, Reigning and “emeritus”. The enigma of the two popes , in the online pages of Espresso.repubblica.it.
  24. ↑ The text is reported in full in the online pages by Espresso.repubblica.it.
  25. ↑ https://croire.la-croix.com/definitions/lexique/eveque/qu-est-ce-qu-un-eveque-emerite .
  26. ↑ You are from Vatican (an Italy).
  • (in) John P. Beal , James A. Coriden and Thomas J. Green , New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law , Mahwah, Paulist Press International, , 1984 p. (ISBN  978-0-8091-4066-4 , read online )
  • (in) John R. Eastman , ‘ Giles of Rome and Celestine V: The Franciscan Revolution and the Theology of Abdication » , The Catholic Historical Review , vol. 76, n O 2, , p. 195-211 (ISSN  0008-8080 )
  • (in) Patrick Granfield , ‘ Papal Resignation » , The Jurist , n O 38, , p. 118-131 (ISSN  0022-6858 )
  • Olivier Guyotjeannin , “Renunciation” , in Philippe Levillain (s. dir.), Historical dictionary of the papacy , Paris, Fayard, 2003 ( first re 1994 edition) (ISBN  2-213-618577 ) , p. 1443-1444
  • Jean Leclercq « The renunciation of Célestin V and theological opinion in France during the lifetime of Boniface VIII », Revue d’Histoire de l’Église de France , vol. 25, n O 107, , p. 183-192 (ISSN  0048-7988 , DOI  10.3406/rhef.1939.2884 , read online )
  • P. G. Caron, “The Pope’s resignation in the law and in the canonical doctrine of XIII It is At XV It is centuries ”, Ecclesiastical law 62 (1951), p. 60-67

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