Vatican: Why rumors of an abdication of Pope Francis are rife

In early May, Pope Francis arrived at an audience in a wheelchair. He has also just brought forward the date of a Consistory and will make a symbolic trip at the end of August. It was enough to arouse the most varied hypotheses on the forthcoming resignation of the Argentine sovereign pontiff. The health of Pope Francis is scrutinized with more attention than usual at the beginning of June. As The Guardian and Le Point report, several signs that one might think heralds are encouraging rumors in the papal city of a possible abdication. On May 5, Francis, who suffers from persistent pain in his right knee and hip, arrived in wheelchair to a hearing. The day before, in Place Saint-Pierre, the 85-year-old prelate had appeared in a delicate posture, leaning on two people from protocol to get up and walk on their arm. It was enough to restart the hypotheses of serious illness, and therefore of resignation. According to the Swiss journalist, Vatican specialist, Arnaud Bédat, this public appearance surprised everyone. No one had been notified at the press office. The image of a diminished pope refers both to that of a stubborn John Paul II who suffered (almost) until his last breath and who died in office. But also to that of Benedict XVI, pope emeritus, predecessor of the current pope, the first pope since 1406 to abdicate… An abdication forced in part because of declining health and travel, in particular by plane, which became problematic when he was 85, like Francis today. The Vatican, “a rumor factory” In 2015, rumors were already rife about the pope’s health. But these corresponded more to maneuvers aimed at destabilizing this new pope in the process of reforming the Church and the Vatican from within. The pope was then attributed with a brain tumor. “Brain rumors”, as summarized by Arnaud Bédat, who adds that the Vatican is “a rumor factory”. Everyone scrutinizes, observes the slightest sign of the health of this head of state… in the same way as the health of a president or the queen of England. The young Jorge Mario Bergoglio has had a so-called fragile health for a long time, recalls the specialist. At the age of 21, he underwent the ablation of part of the lung following pneumonia – which led to his traumatic relationship with medicine, according to Arnaud Bédat, author of two books on Pope Francis .After rumors of 2015, a colon operation in July 2021 which only accentuated new speculation of cancer and this recent appearance in a chair, the fact that Francis did not preside over Pentecost Mass on Sunday , has finished giving an end-of-reign tone to the rumors that were circulating. While John Paul II, elected at the age of 58, had shown great physical vitality throughout his pontificate, Francis, elected to the age of 76, had recognized him in 2014, a year after his election, not to exclude the idea of ​​​​a resignation. Another sign interpreted by the exegetes: the surprise announcement of a Consistory on August 27, i.e. three months before possible date [les consistoires se tenant habituellement en février, juin ou novembre]. The opportunity to appoint sixteen new cardinal electors in the event of a conclave [réunion aboutissant à l’élection du nouveau pape] and increase the number of cardinals with ideas close to those of François. A resignation at the earliest at the end of August Two implicit readings are possible, according to Arnaud Bédat. “With Bergoglio, you can always read everything in both directions”, explains the man who met him ten times. To advance the date of this Consistory is either to shorten the sufferings of the sovereign pontiff linked to his declining health, or, tactically, to push to bring out the potential candidates for his succession and to reveal themselves – which is quite possible in the regard to the political skill of the prelate who calls himself a little “furbo” (cunning, in Italian). In any case, if the health of the pontiff allows it, a resignation would only be possible after this meeting. For observers of the life of the Vatican, it remains to be seen whether the sovereign pontiff will indeed make the three apostolic trips planned on his agenda: to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to South Sudan from July 2 to 7, and to Canada from July 24 to 30. The decisions of the Holy See are therefore watched: a cancellation of travel to Africa could be justified by the situation in North Kivu (eastern DR Congo) where conflicts have resumed, which would give little readability on his state of health é.An absence in Canada, on the other hand, would be easily interpreted as a new sign of fragile health. Preparing for the trip already looks “complicated”, reports Radio-Canada. The Vatican office set relatively drastic conditions: travel as limited as possible (no helicopter, car for a short time), only one major event per day to preside over, “unless the second is of short duration” . Finally, “his state of health does not allow him to sleep in a different place each night”, reveals Radio-Canada. Another strong symbol, suggesting a papal resignation: his pastoral visit to L’Aquila, scheduled for August 28, the day after the Advanced Consistory. In this city of Abruzzo is organized the Celestine Pardon, an annual Catholic event also called Great Pardon, but also (and above all) there is the remains of Celestine V, pope of the 13th century who, after five months of pontificate, resigned.Before to know if it will soon be necessary to watch for black or white smoke coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the fact remains for Arnaud Bédat, that the Argentine pope has a very strong nostalgia for a country, d land, of a people to whom he is very attached: “He misses his country, that’s for sure, he concludes. It’s no secret among his close friends in Argentina, it’s been almost ten years since he did not return to his native land.”