Pope Francis is 80 on Saturday – the age at which cardinals must retire
from the electoral college, which will choose the next leader of the
world’s 1.2bn Roman Catholics. Will Francis also go at 80? In the past,
popes ignored the watershed. They went on until they died. But Benedict
XVI changed things when he became the first leader of the Catholic
church to resign in more than 500 years. Francis has indicated that he
might retire too. It is vital, not just for the church but the world,
that he does not.
The two popes before Francis were conservatives. Between them, John Paul II and his successor, Benedict, set the public tone of Catholicism for more than three decades. In just three years, Francis has gone some way to hauling the church back towards the center. But the ideological right is increasingly fighting back. Their private criticism of the first pope from the global south is turning to public dissent. Now is not the time for Francis to have innovative thoughts about institutionalizing papal retirement by stepping down.
The two popes before Francis were conservatives. Between them, John Paul II and his successor, Benedict, set the public tone of Catholicism for more than three decades. In just three years, Francis has gone some way to hauling the church back towards the center. But the ideological right is increasingly fighting back. Their private criticism of the first pope from the global south is turning to public dissent. Now is not the time for Francis to have innovative thoughts about institutionalizing papal retirement by stepping down.
