Popes and preemptive resignation

Fortunately, we haven’t had to face an incapacitated pope, but over time the odds are good that the situation could arise. Yet hashing out a satisfactory way to deal with it is always tough, because if you talk too much or too publicly about such things, somebody’s going to construe it as disrespectful to the current pope, even as a political effort to weaken his hand by making it seem the end is near.

RECENT COLUMNS

Archives