Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Shock resignation may do Catholic Church a small disservice

Strange though it may seem, Pope Benedict’s decision to resign the papacy for the good of the Catholic Church may do it a small disservice.
By leaving his post instead of taking it with him to the grave, he is depriving the Vatican, Rome, and the worldwide Catholic community of the chance to show how formidable a force the faith can be.

The funeral of a serving pope is so much more than a farewell to a loyal servant. It is a chance to open up the immensely rich vaults of history, tradition, and ceremony that have been collected more than 2,000 years and polish them off for an airing before a new audience.

Long days of mourning preceding it allow for a period of collective reflection — on the personalities, the politics, and the spirituality of Catholicism — unrivalled by probably any other occasion in the life of the Church.

The day itself provides a single focal point for a Church that exists in many different forms, claims more than 1bn followers, is spread across almost every country, and struggles at times to have everyone looking in the same direction.

Before Pope John Paul II died in 2005, his impending departure had already become a unifying force.

During his final three days, tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to say their last goodbyes.

They sang and prayed, they left candles and flowers, they chatted, reminisced, and exchanged stories. They came from a few cobbled streets away and from continents apart.

They spoke different languages but shared a common sentiment and it was deeply affecting to see how they had been drawn together to express it.

On the night he died, the square had been fuller than ever. As families drifted away to get children to bed, their places were filled by young people in clubbing gear popping in to pay their respects on the way to Saturday night’s entertainment.

Older people stopped by on their way from evening Mass and tourists, nuns, couples, and shift workers all mingled in solidarity.

In his last few hours, those occupying the spot on the square where it was easiest to see the three gently lit windows of the room where John Paul lay took to singing to him.

His fellow Poles sang the moving hymn to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa that John Paul would have known from childhood. The Italians chanted as if at a football match, cheering the name of the man they knew as Giovanni Paolo, clapping in time to the beat.

When the announcement of his death came shortly before 10pm, singing turned to prayers and chatter to tears. The solemn tolling of the bell of St Peter’s Basilica was heard in even the most clangourous corners of this most gregarious city.

In the six days of mourning that followed, Rome was witness to extraordinary scenes as preparations were made for the funeral. St Peter’s was swamped by pomp and ceremony and so many billowing robes that the building itself seemed to sway at times.

The streets around it were swamped with mourners who queued all day and night to file past John Paul’s coffin, sleeping on the pavements or camping out in precariously parked cars, many with Polish number plates.

When the intimidating formality of the former met the colourful chaos of the latter, there was an unmistakable frisson that reignited with every fidgety footstep on the frigid floors.

It is hard to know if there would be a repeat of those seven intense days had Pope Benedict decided to see his time out in office.

His personality and his papacy differed greatly from that of his predecessor whose charisma and energy endeared him to so many both within and outside the Catholic Church.

But there must surely have been Vatican administrators who were already mentally planning ahead for the day when they would have had the first funeral of a serving pope that would be tweeted, Instagrammed, YouTubed, and followed simultaneously by perhaps multiples of the millions who attended, tuned in or replayed the ceremonies for John Paul II.

It would have been a chance to focus Catholics for a while and remind them, and the rest of the world, just how big a collective they are and how influential they can be.

Pope Benedict was acting unselfishly in standing down before his duties exceeded his ability to handle them and he will undoubtedly get a good send-off when his time comes.

But there will be many who regret that he didn’t see his job for life through to the end.

Persecutions and schism led to resignations

This is not the first time that a pope resigned, with a provision in the Code of Canon Law allowing such action.

Rule 332.2 of the code said: “If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.”

The last pope to resign was Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 as part of negotiations at the Council of Constance during which there were two claimants to the papacy.

What’s important to understand about the papacy is that the pope is far more important for who he is than for what he does. It is true that a pope does quite a lot, both in administrative matters and as a cleric, but he doesn’t actually have to take action in order to be pope. His importance as pope lies in being a symbol of Christian unity. Thus, as long as he is breathing, he continues to fulfil some of the primary duties of his office.

Determining just which popes have resigned is actually difficult because the records of Church history are in such disarray for so many centuries. Some place the number as high as 10, some as low as four — it all depends upon how one defines a “resignation” and how the data is interpreted.

* Pontian (230-235) was the first pope to resign and his case is clear. Pontian had been caught up in the severe persecution of Christians under emperor Maximinus Thrax and was sent to the mines on Sardina. Pontian knew he would almost certainly die on Sardina and didn’t want there to be a long-term power vacuum in the Church, so he decided abdication would be the best course of action. Pontian’s abdication also gives us the first certain date in the history of papacy: Sept 28, 235.

* Marcellinus (296-304) didn’t actually resign, but his actions probably caused him to cease being pope. During the Diocletian persecutions of 303, Marcellinus handed over scriptures to Roman authorities and burned incense to the pagan gods. Such actions would have disqualified him from the priesthood and, therefore, the papacy. His name was kept off the official list of popes for a while, but his papacy is now marked as ending with his death.

* Silverius (536-537), son of Pope Hormisdas, was deposed and exiled by Empress Theodora of Constantinople, brought back by Emperor Justinian to stand trial, convicted, and forced by his successor Pope Vigilius to abdicate again. He starved to death on an island in the Gulf of Gaeta.

* John XVIII (1003-1009) didn’t do much that survived in the records, but it is believed that he resigned and lived out the last years of his life in a monastery.

* Benedict IX had the most confusing pontificate in history. He served as pope three times: He was elected, ejected, returned, abdicated, deposed, returned, ejected, and eventually excommunicated. Presumably at least one of his resignations may have been canonically valid, possibly two.

* Celestine V (1294) tried to rule while under the control of Charles II of Sicily, something he quickly determined wouldn’t be possible. Rather than serve as little more than a figurehead for secular powers, he simply abdicated the papal office after only five months. This resignation helped establish as a matter of church law that a pope may freely resign his office.

* Gregory XII (1406-1417) was another pope who resigned for the greater good of the Church. He reigned during the Western Schism. There were two other rivals claiming the papacy, both with genuine support among various churches and secular powers. He agreed to abide by the decision of the Council of Constance with just one condition: That he be permitted to officially convene it. This was granted, thus establishing the validity to his claim to the papacy, and he resigned so the council could elect Martin V as his successor. Gregory was the last pope to resign his office.

Mercury rising holds key to history of names and numbers

The process of electing the next pope has had a long and storied past over nearly 2,000 years.

Bishop of Ostia’s role: In 336, Pope Mark decided the Bishop of Ostia, the port city of Rome, should consecrate popes. At this time, the electee was either a deacon or a priest of Rome, and so consecration to the episcopacy inaugurated his papacy. Today, the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia is the dean of the college of cardinals and retains the right to consecrate the Pope if he is not already a bishop.

Bishop Electees: Prior to the election of Marinus I in 882, popes had been chosen from among priests and deacons. Upon consecration to the episcopacy, they became capable of being Pope and were, therefore, in that moment made both bishop and Pope. Bishops were not chosen because they were considered wedded to their diocese. Marino was already a bishop, however, so instead of being consecrated he was enthroned. After this time, the practice of electing bishops occurred more frequently. Since a bishop is already capable of being Pope, the electee becomes Pope in the moment of his acceptance of his election. Counting Popes In 752, the man set to succeed Pope Zachary took the name Stephen II. 


However, since he died before being officially consecrated, by the canon law of the day he was not considered the Pope. Soon thereafter, a different Stephen took the name Stephen II. Almost 1,000 years later, the official numbering was changed. The short-lived Stephen II is still not listed among the Popes, but his name is accounted for by the renumbering of the listed Stephens, so that the official Stephen II is now Stephen II (III). This change was applied to all the Stephens, down to Stephen IX (X) in 1057.

Eastern Catholic Popes A number of Eastern Catholics of Greek or Syrian origin have been elected Pope. The last Pope from the East was Pope Zachary (741).

Papal Names Most of the early popes kept their names upon election. However, when the Roman priest Mercury was elected in 533, he took the name John II, so the Church would not have a Pope named after a pagan god.

What happens next?

While Pope Benedict’s resignation has caused surprise around the world, the Vatican has long had procedures in place to deal with such an eventuality, or, more commonly, in the event of a pope’s death, the period known as the interregnum.

Since all executive, legislative, and judicial power of the Holy See resides entirely with the Pope, all but the most ordinary work of the Church ceases with his death or resignation. The prefects, presidents, and other heads of departments immediately find themselves out of office. Their subordinates continue the ordinary workings of the departments, submitting all matters to the college of cardinals.

There are two exceptions: Firstly, the camerlengo, who heads the apostolic camera, the department with duties directly connected with the vacancy of the Holy See, and secondly, the major penitentiary, whose work for the good of souls continues.

It is the college of cardinals, therefore, which remains in charge in the interim. Camerlengo Tarcisio Bertone and the other officials of the apostolic camera oversee the departments and report daily to the college, which makes any decisions.

One of its chief duties is to oversee the election of a new pope, by means of the electoral conclave. It begins ordinarily on the 15th day after the death or resignation of a pope.

On the morning of the first day on which the conclave is to begin, the cardinal electors gather in St Peter’s Basilica, or another place, to celebrate a votive Mass for the election of the Pope.

In the afternoon, they gather in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. Invoking the assistance of the Holy Spirit with the Veni Creator Spiritu, they process to the Sistine Chapel. There, they make a solemn oath in Latin to observe the prescriptions of the law governing the election, to observe the secrecy obliged, and to not assist any secular power which may try to influence the election. They also swear that if elected they will faithfully carry out the Petrine Office, and protect the spiritual and temporal rights of the Holy See. In Apr 2005, the cardinals permitted the procession and oath to be broadcast by television and radio.

After this, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies gives the order extra omnes, commanding everyone not authorised to remain in the conclave to leave the chapel. Besides the electors, only the master of papal liturgical ceremonies and the ecclesiastic chosen beforehand to give a meditation to the cardinals on the seriousness of their duties remain. When the meditation has been concluded, both of these men depart the Sistine Chapel.

Only the cardinal electors may remain in the Sistine Chapel during the actual voting, which by law is from after the ballots have been distributed until after they have been tabulated and checked. Outside of the time of actual voting, the secretary of the college, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies and the two masters of ceremonies are present to assist the conclave.

On this first day of the conclave, only one ballot is permitted. On the other days of the conclave, two ballots are permitted in the morning session and two are permitted in the afternoon session.