Term limit for the Pope

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YourNameHere said:
Now, don’t get your nose out of joint
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Huh? Who’s getting out of joint on here?

I didn’t flag this, but if you want to create “discussion”, telling people they’re getting out of joint when they’re just answering you normally is not going to encourage folks to respond.
 
The Papal office isn’t a job or a function, or a project to get certain work done. It is, in principle at least, a quality of the individual elected to it. Once this quality has been recognized, it cannot be unrecognized either according to a time frame or for particular reasons or circumstances. The Papal office is therefore closely akin to a Kingship. This tends to be a little hard to understand for those who didn’t grow up in a monarchy, but really, kingship (and therefore the Papal office) isn’t simply the archaic forerunner of modern-day forms of temporal leadership. It is based on an entirely different premise, and neither time-limits nor other modern T&C are applicable to it.
 
YourNameHere said:
But God left the Church in charge of things. That means that the Church could change that “for life” thing. Shouldn’t Pope Benedict have served for life?
Now, don’t get your nose out of joint, all of this I have written in an effort to create debate and discussion.
I, like you, love the Church. God bless you, T_B. 🙏🙏🙏🎉
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God didn’t leave the ‘Church in charge’ like a group of men to do things independently as they wish, as they please.

No, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to guide the Church in all things. It’s up to the successors to the apostles to discern this, of course. But the constant here is the Holy Spirit.

So now, God didn’t just leave the Church without a guide to do whatever She wants.
 
I believe that God guides certain popes for certain reasons. Most rule until their death, which I appreciate, and some abdicate because they discern it appropriate.

Do I hope Pope Francis abdicates? Yes! Is it God’s will? I don’t know! Do I wish Pope Benedict were still Pope? Yes. Am I to judge? Absolutely not.

I don’t think Popes should have a term limit. He is God’s vicar. There could be many reasons for what is going on within a papacy.
 
Usagi said:
(or a monarch, which he also is)
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It’s important, however, to note the difference between the pope and a constitutional monarch and how their very different roles affect the desirability of a very long reign. The UK has benefited immensely from the present queen’s 67-year reign, partly because she has been an exceptionally capable monarch and partly because she has exercised the duties of her office for longer than any other monarch in our history. But what the queen is required to be and what a pope is required to be are two very different things. Whereas the queen’s chief virtue is her ability to stand impeccably aloof from politics, it is the pope’s role to direct and determine the course of the Church during the period of his pontificate. The qualities that made a John XXIII or a John Paul II great popes would be the very same qualities that would be deplorable in a constitutional monarch. Conversely, the qualities that have made Elizabeth II perhaps the finest monarch in British history would make for a very poor pope. None of this is to say that popes should not have long pontificates, but the benefits of longevity in a pope would be not altogether the same as the benefits of longevity in a constitutional monarch.
 
YourNameHere said:
Like there is for some political positions, should there be a term limit for the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church?
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Yes, he is limited to one term.

Whereas in at least one case, an EP has served three . . .
SanRafael1102 said:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was a rare bird in that he resigned from the papacy.
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If memory serves, he is the third (fourth?) to do so – ever.

And the second to survive the experience.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
If you had Popes cycling in there every 5 years, it might very well hurt the Church by encouraging factions in the Church to be jockeying for office.
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Correct, it would create more of a “political party” system within the Church than we already have.

Also, the Cardinals do impose “term limits” in a way when they elect a bishop in his upper 70s.
 
Londoner said:
It’s important, however, to note the difference between the pope and a constitutional monarch
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The pope is not a constitutional monarch. He is an absolute monarch. A very important distinction.
 
NO, lifetime appointments have their purpose and place, and it has served the papacy well. There are provisions for disability of the Pope, I think (maybe I’m wrong here). “Term Limits” come up in the context of republics and democracy.

Ideally, the election of a Pope in conclave is supposed to be done, seeking the assistance of the Holy Spirit, not the influence of a faction. Having said that I am aware that Pope St JPII changed the rules for a conclave and provided that at some point the election could be decided by a simple majority, rather than whatever majority is required for an early election.
 
Agreed that a Pope becomes so due to the interference of God also.But God normally interfere through men.In this case he interferes through the Cardinals who select the Pope.There is nothing wrong if the Cardinals decide prior to the election that the term of the Pope or the age limit be fixed.It will have the support of the Holy spirit. Or better still the relevant law can be amended at any time as per the procedure.There is nothing that once elected ,Pope should remain as Pope till death.
I feel that instead of a fixed term ,fixing an age limit of 80 years would be reasonable and sensible.May Holy spirit help in this…
 
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The Catholic Church´s has a different view of the concept of time than almost every other organisation on earth. Eternity is very hard for people to get a grip on before we are dead. After death we don’t need a clock anymore. 😃

If there is a man who wants to be pope, and if I had the possibility to vote, then that man is not the one I would vote for. We will have the pope that the Church needs. We might not understand it in the moment but sometimes it is decades later.
 
YourNameHere said:
Like there is for some political positions, should there be a term limit for the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church?
Historically some Popes have served for a short period of time, while others have served for a long period of time. Pope Benedict retired and Francis became Pope.
What are your thoughts? Should there be a time limit, say five years or so?
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AFAIK such a rule wouldn’t be possible, although it could become a sort of precedent among Popes.
 
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