Papal term limits?
eternity, Chester Gillis: From here to
Preparing the Future of Church Ministry The Catholic Church in the 21St Century Finding Hope for Its Future in the Wisdom of Its Past A Symposium Edited by Michael J. Himes This remarkable...
...Chicago Sun-Times If you plan to emulate [Rudolph's] example, and require preparation for that elusive inner expansion, then this modest and likeable book should be among your gear...
...By discussing these issues when no one holds the office, the cardinals could act independently of the politics of the papal election and, one hopes, without prejudice to the pope's successor...
...Neither of these views is persuasive...
...It disposes of some oft-repeated judgments on priests concerning celibacy, homosexuality and priests' morale...
...Chester Gillis chairs the Georgetown University Department of Theology...
...Interestingly, John Paul approved the 1983 revised Code of Canon Law, which allows a pope to resign (canon 332...
...Canon 401 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law states: "A diocesan bishop is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office when he becomes less able to fulfill his office due to ill health or another serious reason...
...Times (UK) Paper $13.00 Commonweal 13 September 10, 2004...
...Many who watch the pope struggle to perform his duties feel a deep sympathy for him, both because of his physical condition and also out of an admiration for his courage, persistence, and dedication...
...One advantage he has over his predecessors is unparalleled health care...
...Greeley's summary is sobering...
...Others have said that having a leader who is so physically debilitated is pathetic, and that this may make people—whether Catholic or not—wonder why the institution allows him to continue in office...
...Paul Philibert, National Catholic Reporter Cloth $19.00 Pilgrimage to the End of the World The Road to Santiago de Compostela Conrad Rudolph 11 Available in bookstores The University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu "[Rudolph's] destination (in Latin, Finis Terra, or the End of the World) attracted pilgrimages by Roman followers of the cult of Venus...
...144 pages • Paperback • ISBN 0-7648-1147-9 • ID #32980 $12.95 Videotapes: Four 90-minute videotapes (study guide included) ISBN 0-7648-1146-0.1D #90020 • $99.95 Audiotapes: Four 90-minute audiotapes (study guide included) ISBN 0-7648-1145-2 • ID #90015 • $29.95 Fostering Leadership Skills in Ministry A Parish Handbook Jean Marie Hiesberger A useful resource for pas-tors and all who play an active role in the life of a parish, Fostering Leader-ship Skills in Ministry provides help for dealing with some of the most challenging aspects of present-day church ministry and stresses the importance of building community, planning together, and empowering small groups...
...Marriage is between two persons...
...While many opinions have been voiced on the pope's possible retirement, two deserve particular attention...
...It may be time to require that a future pontiff who reaches the age of eighty be required to resign...
...Still, many have an opinion about it...
...In this case, for one to serve as pope until death means that, in the final years of a papacy, the church will be directly overseen not by the pope himself but by Vatican bureaucrats...
...Cardinals eighty and older are not permitted to vote for the next pope...
...This makes sense...
...Some cardinals, notably Belgian cardinal Godfried Danneels, have already indicated that the time for a discussion of papal term limits is due...
...This has already happened under John Paul II, who, officials admit, has reduced the number of hours he works...
...There is nothing implicitly problematic when someone else reads his homilies...
...He promised his electors that he would step down to resolve the Great Western Schism...
...Old age is one thing...
...This is a comprehensive leadership manual for ministry...
...Even when bishops retain clarity of mind, often they do not have the energy of their younger years—a key requirement for fulfilling the job's responsibilities...
...Some have commented on his dedication and willingness to suffer for the church he loves...
...Each section focuses on the Church during a specific time period and presents topics that are of interest today including sin, scandal, episcopal appointment, role of the laity, collegiality, and much more...
...Doesn't that fact argue that the cardinals should consider instituting a plan for the retirement of future popes...
...Still, the pope's difficulties have caused observers to wonder who is writing his homilies, as well as other official Vatican documents issued in his name...
...The papacy not only unites the pope with the church Commonweal 12 September 10, 2004 but also empowers him, as the first among equals, to lead the church...
...In an article in the Washington Post ("A Crossroad for the Catholic Church," February 3, 2003), George Weigel noted that most people think of the pope not as the CEO of the Catholic Church, but, above all, as a religious presence and moral witness...
...Bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignations at age seventy-five, but they may continue to serve if the pope asks them to stay...
...With recent advances in medicine, longevity has increased, sometimes accompanied by good health and mental acuity, but often not...
...Such circumstances are not unprecedented, of course, as the health of many popes has declined in their twilight years...
...He is now well past the age when all bishops but Rome's must submit their resignations...
...One argues that the pope should serve until death...
...The optimum time for the church to discuss the possible resignation of the pope would be during an interregnum—after a pope's death and before the cardinals elect his successor...
...Part of the difficulty with John Paul's declining health is not simply his Parkinson's disease, but the public style of his long papacy...
...Rudolph's reasons for going there are complicated and interesting, like much else in this short and distinctive travel book...
...Historically, several popes have abdicated...
...Advanced medical care may keep someone alive into his ninth decade, but the person usually functions at a diminished level...
...The last to do so was Gregory XII, in 1415...
...128 pages • Paperback • ISBN 0-7648-0847-8 • ID #55210 • $14.95 To order, call 800-325-9521...
...Many compare the pope's commitment to the church to the commitment of marriage that binds "until death do us part...
...Medicine may allow all of us (at least those with the financial means) to live longer, but it cannot ensure that such longevity will be vigorous and unimpaired...
...Give it some thought M ost observers of John Paul II don't expect him to resign the papacy...
...Even now, he chooses to remain in the public eye, although it is painfully obvious that he no longer has the stamina to perform all his duties, even ceremonial ones...
...This sacramental spirituality functions in marriage, but does it work for the papacy...
...ill health is another...
...The second option, in which a pope serves until he deems that he is no longer capable of doing so, leaves open the possibility that he may not recognize that he can no longer carry out his duties...
...Mention Promo Code M5555lChester Gillis PAPAL TERM LIMITS...
...John Paul II celebrated his eighty-fourth birthday in May...
...Preparing the Future of Church Ministry The Catholic Church in the 21St Century Finding Hope for Its Future in the Wisdom of Its Past A Symposium Edited by Michael J. Himes This remarkable material enables everyone to benefit from the thoughts of six eminent theologians as they explore what the Catholic Church in the 215 Century can learn from the Church of the past...
...But though John Paul's predecessors could take refuge in the inner sanctum of the Vatican, it will be harder for him to do so...
...Because John Paul has been so visible, it is impossible for him to slip out of sight at the end of his reign...
...While this may be so, the pope also has the responsibility of managing the affairs of the church, and John Paul II is hardly well enough to shoulder those responsibilities...
...Even so, those who admire these qualities must admit that the pope's diminished physical capacity raises questions about how long he can, or should, continue to serve...
...He's right...
...Priests A Calling in Crisis Andrew M. Greeley "The prophetic outcry of a public intellectual who wants to weigh in on the significance of the sandal with empirically based interpretations of its impact for the future...
...These are hard days, and his agenda of sorting out the social meaning of priesthood in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis may be the kind of rough talk that will wake up some readers and empower others...
...The other is that he should serve until he is no longer capable of leading the church...
...This would also act as a term limit on the papacy, which may serve the church, and the pope, well...
...When combined, they may take a serious toll on both the pope and the church...
...Priests dares to address the disappointing state of ministry in the church today...
...That leadership requires not only a deep spiritual commitment but also the ability to manage a complex global organization...
Vol. 131 • September 2004 • No. 15
