•Had heart surgery three months ago to replace pacemaker’s battery
•May have been forced to resign by splinter group of cardinals
Fresh details have emerged about Pope Benedict XVI’s failing health, which the 85-year-old Catholic pontif, gave as his reason for deciding to resign come February 28.
His decision to resign may be linked to his failing heart condition, as it was gathered on Tuesday, that the Pope, three months ago had heart surgery to have the pacemaker’s batteries fitted into his heart replaced.
He is also believed to be struggling with his memory.
The Vatican has acknowledged that the pontiff has had a pacemaker for years.
He confirmed that it had not been generally known that the Pope had been fitted with a pacemaker.
Father Lombardi, who said the Pope remains stable in health, disclosed that the batteries on the appliance were replaced three months ago in a minor, routine intervention.
Still, Lombardi said this condition had played no part in persuading the pontiff to take the shock decision to step down.
“It had no influence on the decision, the reasons were in his perception that his strength had diminished with advancing age,” Lombardi said during his press briefing at the Vatican.
Also, there speculation was rife that Pope Benedict may have been forced out by a splinter group of Cardinals.
With this development, the Rome, was on Tuesday rocked by claims that the shock resignation of Benedict XVI could lead to a “cataclysmic schism,” with believers divided between the new pope and his successor.
Resignation may devide the Church
The outgoing Pontiff, though declared that he would make himself available to help if asked, the Church is still struggling to navigate his unprecedented retirement.
This decision, a section of the Church believes could effectively result in two popes residing in the Vatican simultaneously.
There were also fears that the 85-year-old may continue to “exert excessive influence through his writing.”
However, these fears were played down by the Vatican, on Tuesday, saying “Benedict would step aside completely from any role in running the Church.”
Also, Pope Benedict’s family said he would spend his remaining time in peaceful contemplation.
The question of two Popes in the Vatican
“Traditionally Popes have not resigned because there is this question of what do we do with two Popes,” said a veteran Vatican observer, John Thavis, who wrote The Vatican Diaries, an insider’s account of the Holy See.
Speaking with the Daily Telegraph, Thavis raised questions on what should be the role of a former Pope.
He asked: “Does he have to stay quiet for the rest of his life?”
“What if he speaks up and disagrees with his successor?
He submitted: “You then have the prospect of the Church effectively having two Popes.”
But Pope Benedict’s brother, Georg Ratzinger, who seems to be addressing the issues raised by Thavis, said his brother, “Benedict intended to live a quiet life and would only offer his assistance with the process of choosing his successor if asked to by the Catholic church.”
“Where he’s needed he will make himself available, but he will not want to want to intervene in the affairs of his successor,” Ratzinger said, speaking from his home in Regensburg, Germany. He said his brother is planning to stay out of the public eye following his retirement and will probably not even write any more.
Also, the bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, who is in charge of the Pope’s theological institute that publishes his work, said “even if Benedict does write, no more would be published during his lifetime.”
“Anything he published could be conceived as interference in the work of the next pope,” Voderholzer said.
Pope Benedict’s recommendation on his successor
As for his successor, Pope’s brother, Ratzinger, said his brother “feels that a younger person is needed to deal with the problems of the times.”
Considering the fact that the the 85-year-old Pontiff said he would be retiring because his strength was “no longer adequate to continue in office due to his advanced age,” this may justify the reason for touting a younger person to succeed him.
Benedict announced his resignation in Latin to a meeting of Vatican cardinals Monday morning, saying he did not have the “strength of mind and body” to continue leading more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide.
His decision, not minding his reason stunned even his closest aides and thrown the Catholic church into turmoil.
Ratzinger told the BBC: “When he got to the second half of his 80s, he felt that his age was showing and that he was gradually losing the abilities he may have had and that it takes to fulfill this office properly.”
Conditions qualifying a potential Pope
There are no formal requirements other than the candidate be a Catholic male. It is said that in theory, one doesn’t even have to be a Cardinal or a priest to be elected Pope.
But in practice, this has not occurred since 1379. There are informal requirements which are seen as unwritten rules to be elected Pope. Some on these include:
The rank: One must be a Cardinal to be elected Pope, as Popes elected in the past were found to fall into either of the two ranks.
Age: There are no formal age requirements for being elected Pope, but it is also a know fact that Cardinals are rarely appointed before age 50.
Cardinals who are 80 years and over cannot vote for Pope, and no one over 79 has ever been elected Pope.
The window of opportunity, therefore, is from one’s late 50’s to one’s late 70’s. Cardinals in their 60’s are considered to be the ideal age for election.
Language: The person who would be Pope must speak at least three languages from: Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German, which are essential for a potential Pope to speak.
Can an African succeed Pope?
The next Pope will be chosen by members of a 117-strong conclave held in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.
The Pope’s decision is unprecedented. He is the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 and no Pontiff in history has stepped down on health grounds.
The move allows the Vatican to hold a conclave before Easter to elect a new pope, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a Pontiff does not have to be observed.
There are several papal contenders, including Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, born October 11, 1948, currently 64 years, is a Ghanaian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, who is a front-runner to become the first black Pope.
Another said to be qualified by the virtue of his recent appointment as a cardinal is the youngest Nigerian cardinal, Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, born January 29, 1944, currently 69 years and the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja.
Does Vatican support resignation of Pope?
Under the Catholic Church’s governing code, known as Canon Law, the only conditions for the validity of such a resignation are that it be made freely and be properly published.
The Vatican expects a new Pope to be elected before Easter.
Benedict, at 78 became the oldest Pope in 300 years when he was elected in 2005.
The Pope at the meeting of cardinals while announcing his resignation said he was making the decision in “full freedom” but was “fully aware of the gravity of this gesture.”
Several cardinals did not even understand what Benedict had said during the consistory, said the Reverend Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman.
“Others who did were stunned,” he said.
A cardinal who was at the meeting said: “We listened with a sense of incredulity as His Holiness told us of his decision to step down from the church that he so loves.”
Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi said: “It’s taken us a bit by surprise. We’ve had to organise ourselves very quickly.
“We’ve had no warning of what the Pope was about to announce. The declaration is crystal clear and we need to go through it word by word.
“The Pope says that he looked in a personal way and had a deep moment of reflection to consider the mission that he had received from God.’
A Vatican spokesman said he will officially stand down at 8pm Rome time (7pm GMT) on February 28.
As the Pope begins his retirement, cardinals in Rome will begin the process of choosing a successor.
Record of Pope’s health issues
Although the Pope’s announcement came as a huge shock to his colleagues, there have been rumours about his health over the last few years.
The Vatican stressed that no specific medical condition prompted Benedict’s decision, but in recent years, the Pope has slowed down significantly, cutting back his foreign travel and limiting his audiences.
He now goes to and from the altar in St Peter’s Basilica on a moving platform, to spare him the long walk down the aisle.
Benedict has acknowledged having suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in 1991 that temporarily affected his vision, but he later made a full recovery.
In 2009, the Pope fell and suffered minor injuries when he broke one of his wrists while vacationing in the Alps.
A doctor familiar with the pope’s medical team said the Pontiff has no grave or life-threatening illnesses.
But the doctor said, like many men his age, the Pope has suffered some prostate problems.
Beyond that, the Pope is simply old and tired, the doctor said on condition of anonymity.
The Pope, who also uses a walking cane, is also understood to be suffering from a degenerative joint disease.
In November 2011, Andrea Tornielli – a well-placed reporter from the Vatican Insider, a project run by La Stampa newspaper in Italy – said Pope Benedict found it agonising to walk even short distances due to ‘arthrosis’, thought to be an Italian term for osteoarthritis, in his knees, hips and ankles.
The condition forced him to pull out of a trip to Brazil in July.
Mr Tornielli said this was why the Pope began using a moving platform to address crowds during mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
There have also been reports that the Pope was struggling to read texts.
Dr Alan Silman, the medical director of Arthritis Research UK, said Pope Benedict most likely has osteoarthritis, which causes people to lose the cartilage at the end of their joints, making it difficult to move around without pain.
He said: “It would be painful for him to kneel while he’s praying and could be excruciating when he tries to get up again.”
Joe Korner, a spokesman for Britain’s Stroke Association, said having a mild stroke also could be a warning of a possible major stroke in the future.
“I would imagine the pope has been warned this could happen and that he should make some changes to his lifestyle,” Korner said, including reducing stress levels.
Benedict has previously stated that Popes who are unable to do their job because of ill health should step down.
His deterioration during the last few months has been particularly noticeable and, according to his brother, he has been considering stepping down for some time.
Georg Ratzinger, who still lives in the family’s native Germany, said he had been having trouble walking and his age was weighing on him.
“At this age, my brother wants more rest,” he said adding that the doctor had warned him not to take any more transatlantic trips.
It’s right time for African Pope - Turkson, Ghanaian papal hopeful
One of Africa’s brightest hopes to be the next pope, Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, says the time is right for a pontiff from the developing world, and that he’s up for the job “if it’s the will of God.”
In an interview on Tuesday with The Associated Press, the day after Pope Benedict XVI announced he would soon resign, Turkson said the “young churches” of Africa and Asia have now become solid enough that they have produced “mature clergymen and prelates that are capable of exercising leadership also of this world institution.”
The church in the Third World doesn’t need a pope of its own to thrive, he said. It’s done just fine growing exponentially with European pontiffs. But Turkson said a pope from the global south, where half of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics live, would “go a long way to strengthen them in their resolve.”
Turkson, 64, became Ghana’s first cardinal when he was elevated by Pope John Paul II in 2003, while he was archbishop of Cape Coast. Six years later, Benedict tapped him to head the Vatican’s peace and justice office, which tackles issues such as the global financial meltdown, armed conflicts and ethical codes for the business world.
It has earned him the unofficial role of being the social conscience of the church.
During his tenure, however, Turkson has raised eyebrows with his occasional blunt talk.
Last year, he caused a major stir during a meeting of the world’s bishops by screening an alarmist video about the inroads Islam is making in Europe and the world. He apologised, but the gaffe may have ended his hopes as a papal contender: Even Vatican Radio called the film a “4-year-old, fear-mongering presentation of statistics” that have been widely debunked.
Benedict, however, clearly thinks highly of him.
In 2009, the pope gave Turkson the high-profile job of running the biannual meeting of bishops to discuss the challenges of the Catholic Church in Africa. A year later, Benedict named him a member of one of the Vatican’s most important boards, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Benedict once headed.
Benedict’s bombshell announcement that he would resign February 28 has set the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope likely before the end of next month.
On Tuesday, Turkson fielded a steady stream of TV crews and journalists and gamely responded to a host of questions about the qualities of the next pope.
The media interest may have been whetted by the high marks British bookmakers gave Turkson in the hours after the announcement: William Hill made Turkson its 3/1 favorite on Monday, followed by Canadian Cardinal, Marc Ouellet, a serious papal contender at 7/2. Ladbrokes also had Turkson as its favorite.
Speculation about the possibility of a pope from the developing world has swirled for years, as that is where the Catholic Church is growing most: In Africa, between 1978 and 2007, the number of Catholics grew from 55 million to 146 million. Latin America counts 40 per cent of the world’s Catholics. By contrast, Catholic communities in Europe are in decline.
In 1978, the Polish-born Pope John Paul II became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Cardinals followed in 2005 by electing the German-born Benedict.
Whether the European-heavy College of Cardinals will look outside Europe for Benedict’s successor is an open question. There is speculation that the Italians may recapture the papacy with strong contenders such as Milan’s archbishop, Cardinal Angelo Scola, a serious intellect who is leading Italy’s largest and most important archdiocese.
But as in 2005, there is once again clamoring for a pope from the developing world to represent the majority of the world’s Catholics and give a nod to the part of the world where the church is growing.
“I think in a way the church is always and has forever been ready for a non-European pope,” Turkson said.
Already, a handful of Vatican offices, aside from his own, are headed by prelates from the developing world: Another papal contender, Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 65, heads the Vatican’s office for religious congregations, while Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, heads the Vatican’s office for Eastern rite churches.
“Although the majority is still Italian or European, we still have a growing number of Africans and people from Asia and Latin America in the Roman Curia,” Turkson said. “If we’re talking specifically about the pope himself, I don’t think we’re too far away from that, either.”
He laughs when asked about speculation that he himself is a contender.
“I’ve always answered ‘if it’s the will of God,’” he said. But turning serious, he said the job is difficult, and few would look for it willingly. And he may be running the risk of jinxing himself, following the conventional wisdom that he who enters a conclave a pope leaves a cardinal.
“Being the pope of the church is not going to be an easy task,” given the challenges ahead. Prime among them, he said, is restoring the church’s credibility, crushed after the clerical sex abuse scandal which drove away thousands of faithful.
“We need to repair our credibility,” Turkson said. “Our pastors need to be believed in again and recognized and taken seriously. If we say we are celibate clergy, we need to live faithfully to that celibacy. There’s one thing we can’t compromise on and that’s our credibility.”
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