Monday, May 29, 2023
manilastandard.net
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
manilastandard.net
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Pope’s future sparks debate, resignation seems unlikely

AFPbyAFP
June 20, 2022, 1:45 pm
in News, World News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Email

By Clément Melki / Alexandria Sage

Pope Francis has fuelled the rumour mill with a postponed Africa trip and the curious timing of an upcoming meeting of cardinals — but experts caution against assuming a resignation is nigh.

Pope Francis waves from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter’s square during the weekly Angelus prayer on June 19, 2022 in The Vatican. Tiziana Fabi / AFP

Hobbled by pain in his knee and forced to use a wheelchair in recent weeks, the 85-year-old pontiff postponed a July trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan last week. 

That move, along with an unusual decision to hold a consistory to name new cardinals during the vacation month of August, triggered intense speculation about his plans for the future, including the most radical — that he was planning to step down. 

Not so fast, many say. 

“In the pope’s entourage, the majority of people don’t really believe in the possibility of a resignation,” a Vatican source told AFP. 

Rumours within the insular Roman Curia — the Catholic Church’s powerful governing body — are nothing new, and often fuelled by those with an interest, said Italian Vatican expert Marco Politi.  

“These rumours are encouraged by the pope’s opponents who are only eager to see Francis leave,” he told AFP. 

Door to retired popes

The resignation of a pope was once almost unthinkable. But when Benedict XVI stood down in 2013, citing his declining physical and mental health, he set a precedent.

In 2014, a year after being elected to replace Benedict, Francis himself told reporters that were his health to impede his functions as pope, he would consider stepping down too.

“He (Benedict) opened a door, the door to retired popes,” the pontiff said then.

More recently in May, as reported by various Italian media, Francis joked about his knee during a closed-door meeting with bishops: “Rather than operate, I’ll resign.”

However, a trip to Canada at the end of July is still on the pontiff’s schedule, and the pope continues to receive injections in his knee and physical therapy, according to the Vatican. 

As a child, Francis had one of his lungs partially removed. Today, besides his knee issue, he suffers recurring sciatic nerve pain. 

Rumours of a resignation also flared last year after Francis underwent colon surgery, prompting him to tell a Spanish radio station that the idea “hadn’t even crossed my mind”. 

But beyond his health, a series of calendared events in upcoming months have some Vatican watchers questioning whether Francis is laying the groundwork for retirement, while ensuring that his reforms stay intact.

Convening cardinals

First was his decision to call an extraordinary consistory for August 27, a slow summer month at the Vatican, to create 21 new cardinals — 16 of whom will be under the age of 80, thereby eligible to elect his successor in a future conclave.

Since becoming pope in 2013, the Argentine pontiff has created 83 cardinals in a move to shape the future of the Catholic Church, in part to counter Europe’s historically dominant influence, and to reflect his values.

On August 28, Francis will pay a visit to L’Aquila and the tomb of Celestine V — the first pope to have resigned from the papacy, in the 13th century.

He then joins the world’s cardinals — many of them meeting their peers for the first time — in two days of discussions over the reform of the Roman Curia, which Francis announced in March with the unveiling of a new constitution. 

Francis’ shake-up of the Roman Curia attempts to shift the Church back towards its pastoral roots, allows lay Catholics to head Vatican departments and creates a dicastery specifically for charity works among other reforms.

Could the August calendar be taken as a hint, as some in the media have suggested? 

“At this stage, it is a question of being realistic and not alarmist,” Politi cautioned.

He said it was “hard to imagine” Francis would resign while the Synod of Bishops — an initiative meaningful to Francis that is intended to study how the Church moves forward in a more inclusive way — is ongoing, due to complete in 2023. 

Alberto Melloni, a professor of Christianity and secretary of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna, told AFP “preposterous” conjectures had been made about the pope’s health and his intentions.

“These are things in which there is a desire to understand, to speculate, but there is little to say,” he said.

Tags: Pope FrancisRomeVatican
ADVERTISEMENT
AFP

AFP

Related Posts

Lucky Me! Go Cup ditches sachets

byManila Standard
May 29, 2023, 5:09 pm
0
8
Lucky Me! Go Cup ditches sachets

Iconic noodle brand Lucky Me! has recently revealed that consumers can now enjoy Lucky Me! Go Cups without the sachets. With seasonings already included...

Read more

Four dead after boat overturns on Italy’s Lake Maggiore

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 3:00 pm
0
8
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

Rome, Italy - Four people died when a boat carrying tourists overturned on Lake Maggiore in strong winds, Italy's fire brigade...

Read more

No glory for bullies: South Korea’s school violence epidemic

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 2:00 pm
0
8
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

Busan, South Korea - Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: Korean hairdresser Pyo...

Read more

China to send first civilian into space on Tuesday

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 1:00 pm
0
8
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

Jiuquan, China - China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space...

Read more

Erdogan: Turkey’s undisputed titan enters third decade of rule

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 12:00 pm
0
8
Erdogan says Saudi Arabia wants armed Turkish drones

By Imran Marashli Istanbul, Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cemented his status as the most important figure in modern Turkish...

Read more

Gunfire adds to violations near end of breached Sudan truce

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 11:00 am
0
8
Taliban govt resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul

Khartoum, Sudan - Gunfire rang out Sunday in the Sudanese capital, adding to truce violations which United States and Saudi mediators...

Read more

Print Edition

View More

Recent Posts

  • 4 Angeleño centenarians get P100K each from DSWD
  • Power Mac Center opens in SM City Bataan
  • Lucky Me! Go Cup ditches sachets
  • AboitizPower leads groundbreaking for new Maco de Oro science lab
  • Beat the summer heat with Urbanize’s The Coldest Water Shaker Bottle!
  • In Less Than 2 Years This Beauty Brand Is Making A Statement In The Beauty Industry 
  • Cebuana Lhuillier expands its affordable healthcare insurance with the launch of HealthMax
  • Miss Universe PH 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee comes out as bisexual

Advertisement

Latest News

In Less Than 2 Years This Beauty Brand Is Making A Statement In The Beauty Industry 

byManila Standard
May 29, 2023, 3:51 pm
0
8
In Less Than 2 Years This Beauty Brand Is Making A Statement In The Beauty Industry 

Y.O.U Beauty an international brand from HEBE Beauty Cosmetics Inc. Upholding the brand philosophy of “Long-Lasting Beauty”, committed to provide...

Read more

Cebuana Lhuillier expands its affordable healthcare insurance with the launch of HealthMax

byManila Standard
May 29, 2023, 3:38 pm
0
8
Cebuana Lhuillier expands its affordable healthcare insurance with the launch of HealthMax

Making affordable HMO available for every Filipino Aside from the toll it has taken on human lives and the local...

Read more

Miss Universe PH 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee comes out as bisexual

byPatricia Bianca S. Taculao
May 29, 2023, 3:02 pm
0
8
Miss Universe PH 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee comes out as bisexual

In a bold and empowering move, Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee came out as bisexual in the latest...

Read more

Four dead after boat overturns on Italy’s Lake Maggiore

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 3:00 pm
0
8
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

Rome, Italy - Four people died when a boat carrying tourists overturned on Lake Maggiore in strong winds, Italy's fire brigade...

Read more

No glory for bullies: South Korea’s school violence epidemic

byAFP
May 29, 2023, 2:00 pm
0
8
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

Busan, South Korea - Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: Korean hairdresser Pyo...

Read more

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

ABOUT US

Manila Standard

Manila Standard website (manilastandard.net), launched in August 2002, extends the newspaper’s reach beyond its traditional readers and makes its brand of Philippine news and opinion available to a much wider and geographically diverse readership here and overseas.

Digital Edition

In tone and content, the online edition mirrors the editorial thrust of the newspaper. While hewing to the traditional precepts of fairness and objectivity, MS believes the news of the day need not be staid, overly long or dry. Stories are succinct, readable and written in a lively style that has become a hallmark of the newspaper.

Download – Today’s Paper

Search

No Result
View All Result

6th Floor Universal Re Bldg., 106 Paseo De Roxas cor. Perea Street, Legaspi Village, 1226 Makati City Philippines

Trunklines: 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Pop.Life
    • Newsmakers
    • Hangouts
    • A-Pop
    • Post Its
    • Performances
    • Malls & Bazaars
    • Hobbies & Collections
  • Technology
    • Gadgets
    • Computers
    • Business
    • Tech Plus
  • MS ON THE ROAD
    • Sedan
    • SUV
    • Truck
    • Bike
    • Accessories
    • Motoring Plus
    • Commuter’s Corner
  • Home & Design
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Construction
    • Interior
  • Spotlight
  • Gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Seminars
    • Exhibits
    • Community
  • Biyahero
    • Travel Features
    • Travel Reels
    • Travel Logs
  • Pets
  • Advertise with Us

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Install Manila Standard Web App

Install App