A conspiracy theorist's wet dream.

WTM

Interesting comparison Aitchbee. But has any pontif in history ever stood down?

WTM

WhiteTruckMan I'm not sure there's any process whereby the Pope can stand down - in the past they've normally had foreshortened lifespans

So if I understand correctly from woolwells link, a pontif can resign or die, but cannot otherwise be removed. But something else struck me, and I shall quote the paragraph in question

Apart from stating that, if the See of Rome is completely impeded, no innovation is to be made in the governance of the universal Church, and that the special laws enacted for these circumstances are to be observed, canon law makes no provision for the eventuality that a Pope is temporarily or permanently incapacitated for reasons of health, an assassination attempt or captivity, nor does it indicate what individual or body or group has the authority to certify that the Pope is totally impeded from exercising his office.

As I see it, if the pope were (hypothetically) to become senile- not an impossibility given the advanced ages that popes tend to be- then he couldn't enact any great changes to the church. Which seems sensible enough. But it also seems to say that no one is qualified to say that any such senility is severe enough to restrict a reigning (is that the term?) pope.

WTM