Recent news reports of Pope John Paul II’s failing health has lead me to wonder if the Pope can retire. I have no opinion on whether this particular Pope should retire, nor do I much care about Vatican politics and speculation on who the next Pope may be. However, I am always curious about how organizations work and how rules are set up, and canon law always provides fodder for interesting intellectual exercises. So I’ve been wondering — Can the Pope retire?

Back in May, the BBC ran a story about the possibility that John Paul II might abdicate:

A few popes have abdicated in previous centuries. The last to do so voluntarily was Celestine V in 1294.

Under modern canon law, a pope is allowed to resign.

But John Wilkins, editor of Catholic newspaper, The Tablet, said: “He would say that it is a job given to him by God, and he has no right to lay it down.”

It’s this last bit that interests me. If the Pope truly is called by god, then would retirement be a rejection of that call? I’m also intrigued by the fact that canon law provides no way to remove a Pope who has become incapacitated — if the Pope were in a coma, he would still be Pope until he died. The capacties of modern medicine have outstriped the capacities of canon law.

Related:
More about Celestine V
Pope Pius VII’s conditional abdication