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It’s one of those heavy questions. A question that carries a certain degree of mystery: what would happen within the lion’s walls (and not only) if the Pope contracted Covid-19? In the current period, then, the question is more relevant than ever. In Vatican They have taken all the necessary countermeasures since the first quarantine: the Church has approved the state restrictions. Which could have made the most die-hard Catholics turn their noses, but so be it. The Holy See cannot risk it. Santa Marta, the place that Jorge Mario Bergoglio has chosen to reside since the beginning of his pontificate, has faced more than one positivity from Sars-Cov2 throughout these months. And the confrontation between men also applies to the consecrated, and the virus occurs while the Bishop of Rome is immersed in a “revolution” that admits no exceptions.
Among vessels “uncovered” from within, as in the case of the funds of the Secretary of State that are still being investigated and the creation of new cardinals, the action of the Argentine pontiff has not stopped. Of course, apostolic visits are not possible, and traditional appointments, even consistories, are subject to the necessary reinterpretations in a contemporary key. Without China, Russia and Argentina for now: the three big “dreams” are never ruled out. And the “nominations” of the new thirteen purples should be kept online. So, at any moment, it could be time for the new one. Apostolic Constitution, who in the plans of the bishop of Rome would have the task of modifying internal hierarchies, rebalancing certain logics, etc. There is much talk, for example, of a reduction in the old Holy Office and the expansion of the powers of the Secretary of State, but nothing is confirmed. The pontificate of Francis has reached a turning point. Being forced to delegate in such circumstances is inadvisable or not expected. Here are some why’s of that question, as well as natural reasons.
He also noticed it Gianluigi nuzzi, che ne The Vatican Black Book asks and reflects in turn: “A question is whispered with the eyes turned to the residence of the Pope, it is a question that generates a deep disorientation: if the Holy Father falls ill, what would happen?”. Yes, and who knows. Part of that work was published in The impression. These are the research books that we have had the opportunity to know and appreciate in recent years, as well as other content never published. The answer actually exists: nobody replaces the Pope of the Catholic Church. Cardinals, even in case of illness, have the task of governing the Church, according to the role they fill. We will remember the last years of the pontificate of Saint John Paul II and the controversy over a truly “synodal” government, because it is made up of a group of high-level ecclesiastics, totally or almost totally without the executive voice of the Holy Father.
Bergoglio then does not have a “number two”. The role that, with a little imagination, could be associated with Monsignor Stanislaw Dwisiz, today engaged in his native land to defend himself against accusations of cover-ups made by progressives for the time of the Polish Pope and Father Georg Gaenswein for the Ratzingeriana. Critics of the trend claim that Francesco is a centralizer. Another characterization more aimed perhaps at describing the character of a personality that should act without too many consultations when making important decisions, but that may also be vitiated by the usual “anti-Bergoglian” prejudice. We know what happens when a premier falls ill: when Boris Johnson contracted the COVID-19, its functions were performed by the Secretary of Defense. And there are similar rules for every eventuality that concerns democratic institutions. Not the Church, precisely because it is not a democracy, and not even a political party as the former archbishop of Buenos Aires has just recalled, cannot foresee something like this.
Joseph Ratzinger, with his resignation, may have created a precedent capable of setting the stage for hypothetical future circumstances. Benedict XVI, whatever people say, has created from scratch the figure of the “pope emeritus”, and if a successor of Peter ever wants to resign, he could do so as a result of the new institute inaugurated by the German. At that time, the vacant seat and a new conclave would begin. Otherwise, no: Francis, like every other pontiff in history, cannot be replaced.
