This surgical procedure will result in a hospital stay “of several days”, said the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, in a press release.
This absence raises a thorny question: who should replace the pope as head of the Catholic Church?
In the event of the death of the sovereign pope, the process is well established. According to “La Croix” begins with the death or resignation of the Pope, as with Benedict XVI. was the case, the time of the Sede Vacante. A cardinal, called camerlengo, must certify the death of the pope and notify the dean of the College of Cardinals, who in turn is responsible for notifying the other cardinals, the diplomatic corps close to the Holy See, and heads of state.
The cardinals are asked to come to the Vatican and it is up to them to make a number of important decisions, in particular the conduct of the novemdiales, the nine days after the death of the pope.
A gray area
However, in the case of hospitalization or deteriorating health, the process is a bit more complex. According to the weekly Christian Family, this situation represents a gray area in the canonical texts. And with good reason: the pope is to be appointed for life. If the sovereign pope is clear about this, the question does not arise: “The pope remains the pope even in the hospital,” writes Christian Family.
But what about a pope in a coma or a chronic mental inability to rule?
“The Pope is the only one who can freely renounce his power,” a canonist told Christian Family. The Jesuit site America states that even if the operation is carried out, the pope is still pope and remains “responsible” for the church. And even if there is a reason in canon law for the “hindering” of bishops, since the pope is not considered a simple bishop (Article 355 of the Code of Canon Law), this cannot apply.
“Really, we have no rules. We leave that to the Holy Spirit,” Nicholas Cafardi, an attorney specializing in canon law, told Media America.
A decision that rests with the Pope
Pope Benedict XVI had tried to fill in this gray area – in vain. In particular, he had ordered the drafting of new legal texts, which were ultimately never promulgated.
The decision therefore rests with the Pope and only with him. Francis understood this well, having written a letter of resignation in 2013, just after he had been proclaimed pope, in the event that a “health problem” prevented him from exercising his office.