St. Pope John Paul II Archives

Maverick image aside, sometimes Pope’s more evolution than revolution

Two stories about Pope Francis in the last few days have confirmed impressions of him as a maverick, break-the-mold kind of pope, one on the death penalty and the other on the Amazon. In both cases, however, there’s a good argument to be made that what the pope is up to represents not a revolution, but a natural evolution of where the Church was already moving.

On popes and the problem with preemptive resignation

Analysis

August 27, 2017

Following confirmation this week that Pope Paul VI wrote resignation letters in advance in case he was struck by a disabling condition, debate is likely to revive about whether such a preemptive resignation would be valid under Church law. Until that’s resolved, we’re sort of like people driving around without car insurance – gambling the worst won’t happen, but always knowing it could.

Vatican reality check: It may not be partisan, but it’s definitely political

Analysis

August 26, 2017

While he was in Russia this week, the Vatican’s top diplomat said the Holy See is not identified with any “particular political position” — ironically, one day after Pope Francis took a position on citizenship by birth with clear political relevance in Italy right now. In truth, when Vatican officials say they’re not “political,” what they really mean is that they’re not “partisan.”

Explaining papal calm on security, plus a note on the convert debate
- Analysis
- August 20, 2017
In the wake of the latest spike in violence across Europe, the Vatican says it’s not taking extra security precautions, in part because safeguards were already “very strong.” Popes often feel a greater degree of calm about their safety than other public figures, because, let’s face it, from their point of view, they’ve got the ultimate safety net.
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Reflections on ‘Tettamanzi lesson’ for handicapping papal elections
- Analysis
- August 8, 2017
Italian Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan, for much of his tenure, was considered a slam-dunk obvious candidate to be pope. In the end, he had no real traction, which illustrates a key insight about papal conclaves: Like most other electoral exercises, sometimes front-runners win, and other times they vanish before your very eyes.
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Progressive champion once seen as papal candidate dies in Milan
- Global Church
- August 5, 2017
Italian Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, who was nominated as Archibishop of Milan by John Paul II and held the post for nearly a decade, has died on Saturday at the age of 83. The cardinal was a moral theologian who contributed to the writing of the encyclical Evangelium Vitae and was for many years considered a possible candidate to becoming pope. As archbishop, Tettamanzi in many ways anticipated the ‘Pope Francis style’ by reaching out to the peripheries and to the marginalized.
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