No norms on ill pontiff
VATICAN CITY — While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated. As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition with a complex lung infection, he is still pope and very much in charge. The Vatican said Sunday that Francis was conscious and still receiving supplemental oxygen. He rested during a peaceful night after he had a prolonged respiratory crisis a day earlier that required high flows of oxygen to help him breathe. Still, Francis' hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period, or whether he might follow in Pope Benedict XVI's footsteps and resign if he becomes unable to lead. On Monday, Francis' hospital stay will hit the 10-day mark, equaling the length of his 2021 hospital stay for surgery to remove 33 centimeters of his colon. His age and prolonged illness have revived interest about how papal power is exercised in the Holy See, how it is transferred, and under what circumstances. Here's how it works: The pope is the successor of the Apostle Peter, the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and the pastor of the universal Catholic Church on Earth, according to the church's in-house canon law. Nothing has changed in his status, role or power since Francis was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013. That status is by theological design. Francis may be in charge, but he already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious or not. Chief among them is the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In a sign that Francis' hospitalization foresaw no change to the governance of the church, Parolin was in Burkina Faso when Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14. Parolin is now back at the Vatican. Other Vatican functions are proceeding normally, including the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year celebrations. On Sunday, for example, Archbishop Rino Fisichella celebrated a Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Basilica that Francis was supposed to have celebrated. Fisichella offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had prepared. Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can't run his diocese, but none for a pope. Canon 412 says a diocese can be declared "impeded" if its bishop — due to "captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity" — cannot fulfill his pastoral functions. In such cases, the day-to-day running of the diocese shifts to an auxiliary bishop, a vicar general or someone else. Even though Francis is the bishop of Rome, no explicit provision exists for the pope if he similarly becomes "impeded." Canon 335 declares simply that when the Holy See is "vacant or entirely impeded," nothing can be altered in the governance of the church. But it doesn't say what it means for the Holy See to be "entirely impeded" or what provisions might come into play if it ever were. In 2021, a team of canon lawyers set out to propose norms to fill that legislative gap. They created a canonical crowd-sourcing initiative to craft a new church law regulating the office of a retired pope as well as norms to apply when a pope is unable to govern, either temporarily or permanently. The proposed norms explain that, with medical advancements, it's entirely likely that at some point a pope will be alive but unable to govern. It argues that the church must provide for the declaration of a "totally impeded see" and the transfer of power for the sake of its own unity.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
VATICAN CITY — While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated.
As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition with a complex lung infection, he is still pope and very much in charge. The Vatican said Sunday that Francis was conscious and still receiving supplemental oxygen. He rested during a peaceful night after he had a prolonged respiratory crisis a day earlier that required high flows of oxygen to help him breathe.
Still, Francis' hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period, or whether he might follow in Pope Benedict XVI's footsteps and resign if he becomes unable to lead.
On Monday, Francis' hospital stay will hit the 10-day mark, equaling the length of his 2021 hospital stay for surgery to remove 33 centimeters of his colon.
His age and prolonged illness have revived interest about how papal power is exercised in the Holy See, how it is transferred, and under what circumstances. Here's how it works:
The pope is the successor of the Apostle Peter, the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and the pastor of the universal Catholic Church on Earth, according to the church's in-house canon law.
Nothing has changed in his status, role or power since Francis was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013. That status is by theological design.
Francis may be in charge, but he already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious or not.
Chief among them is the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In a sign that Francis' hospitalization foresaw no change to the governance of the church, Parolin was in Burkina Faso when Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14. Parolin is now back at the Vatican.
Other Vatican functions are proceeding normally, including the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year celebrations.
On Sunday, for example, Archbishop Rino Fisichella celebrated a Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Basilica that Francis was supposed to have celebrated. Fisichella offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had prepared.
Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can't run his diocese, but none for a pope. Canon 412 says a diocese can be declared "impeded" if its bishop — due to "captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity" — cannot fulfill his pastoral functions. In such cases, the day-to-day running of the diocese shifts to an auxiliary bishop, a vicar general or someone else.
Even though Francis is the bishop of Rome, no explicit provision exists for the pope if he similarly becomes "impeded." Canon 335 declares simply that when the Holy See is "vacant or entirely impeded," nothing can be altered in the governance of the church. But it doesn't say what it means for the Holy See to be "entirely impeded" or what provisions might come into play if it ever were.
In 2021, a team of canon lawyers set out to propose norms to fill that legislative gap. They created a canonical crowd-sourcing initiative to craft a new church law regulating the office of a retired pope as well as norms to apply when a pope is unable to govern, either temporarily or permanently.
The proposed norms explain that, with medical advancements, it's entirely likely that at some point a pope will be alive but unable to govern. It argues that the church must provide for the declaration of a "totally impeded see" and the transfer of power for the sake of its own unity.
