(Vatican City) With the death of Benedict XVI, Pope Francis begins a new phase of his pontificate, without the shadow of his predecessor, a period that could see speculation about his renunciation and opposition to his reforms redouble. ‘intensity.
For the first time since his election in 2013, Jorge Bergoglio is in charge of the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion followers without another man in white at his side.
Because until now, the presence in the Vatican of the German theologian – who had surprised the whole world by renouncing his ministry – had caused trouble, fueling the saga of the “two popes” with divergent visions.
“It’s the end of an ambiguity, of a time when Benedict XVI could be instrumentalized by the opponents of Francis to serve as a standard” for their cause, summarizes Italian Vaticanist Marco Politi to AFP.
Despite the cordial relations between the two men, “the presence of Ratzinger, with his conservative doctrinal vision of the Church and his intellectual stature, was indeed a source of tension in the pontificate of Francis, who had a very open pastoral line “, he adds.
For many observers, the death of Benedict XVI above all removes a major obstacle to the idea of seeing Francis give up in turn, a subject that could fuel speculation in the coming months.
Busy schedule
“As long as Benedict was alive, it was unthinkable to have three popes; now resignation is a real possibility”, even if “his health conditions do not prevent him for the moment from continuing his mission”, affirms Mr. Politi.
At 86, the pope appears more tired and his knee pain forces him to move around in a wheelchair. But if he has never ruled out giving up the day when his forces would no longer allow him to govern the Church, he assured not to consider this option so far.
On the contrary, Francis – who will mark the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March – does not seem to want to slow down: his agenda is still just as busy and two trips have already been confirmed for 2023, to Africa at the beginning of February and to Portugal in August.
If he ends up giving up, he could also legislate anticipating his departure to better define the conditions of “retirement” of a pope.
“There is a form of legal vacuum in canon law”, explains to AFP Mgr Patrick Valdrini, professor emeritus at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, believing that the title of “bishop emeritus of Rome” could ultimately replace that of “pope emeritus”.
” Civil war ”
This hitherto unprecedented cohabitation did not, however, prevent the Argentinian Jesuit from carrying out his reforms: he thus reorganized the Roman Curia, the government of the Holy See, restored order to the finances and regained control of several organizations. Catholics, like the Order of Malta.
But the opposition of a fringe of the Church to his reforms is likely to redouble in intensity as the end of his pontificate approaches.
“There is a civil war within the Catholic Church that will continue. There are forces that want to see Francis leave and influence the next conclave,” Politi insists.
These oppositions can take the form of petitions on the internet, like a manifesto published in 2020 and affirming that freedom of worship was threatened by health measures.
The current world synod, a vast consultation on the governance of the Church and whose general assembly will take place in October in Rome, will make it possible to measure the balance of power on the major issues, such as the place of women, the management of cases paedocrime or the situation of remarried divorcees.
A deadline dear to Francis which could push him to remain on the throne of Peter at least until 2024, the date on which he has set the last stage of this fundamental reflection on the institution.