Dear Catholic Exchange,
Can the Pope be replaced or step down? If so, has this ever happen? Thank you for your time.
Jim LiCausi
Dear Mr. LiCausi,
A Pope may not be replaced, if by that you mean being removed from office against his will, e.g., because some Cardinals think he was doing “a bad job.” Vatican II reiterated the constant teaching of the Church in this regard, stating, “For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” [Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), no. 22; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 882; Code of Canon Law, canons 331-33].
On the other hand, a Pope may step down, meaning freely resign. Such voluntary resignation by the Pope would be within the purview of his full, supreme, and universal power.
There have been Popes who have resigned. Perhaps the best-known example is Pope Gregory XII, who freely resigned his office in 1415 to permit the election of his successor, thereby helping bring about the end of the Western Schism. He died two years later in 1417.
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