the pope who quit by jon m. sweeney
Aug. 7th, 2013 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
archersangelno, not it's not about benedict XVI, it's about celestine V who was pope for about 15 weeks in 1294. he was a hermit called peter morrone who wrote a letter to the cardinals who were dragging their feet on electing a new pope basically telling them that the world was going to hell in a hand-basket because there wasn't a pope & they need to get a movie on in electing one. the letter found it's way into the hand of one of the cardinals who knew him (peter was fairly well-known, having founded a religious order) who after reading it shouted to the other cardinals; "i elect peter morrone"! which qualified as quasi ex inspiratione (from inspiration) & was an acceptable, if rare, way to elect a pope back then (john paul II put a stop to that) i'm not sure why the others went along with it. maybe because of the quasi ex inspiratione or maybe they just wanted a pope elected and to move on with their lives.or maybe they were thinking since he was 80 at the time, he'd pass away soon & one of them could have a go at being pope. or the thought he'd be a puppet for one faction or another.
but it was a disaster almost form the word go. peter tried to run from the men who brought him the news. he offered indulgences to people he shouldn't have. andhe was under the influence of charles II, king of naples who ruled in the area peter lived. also he had no idea what it took to rule the church at that time. canon law was the big thing to know and he didn't. basically after a short while, he gave up and wanted to go home.
what's interesting, i think, is that benedict XVI visited the town where celestine V's shrine & tomb are in april of 2009 because of an earthquake in the area earlier in the month. he paused there for several moments removed the pallium (one of the principal symbols of a pope's episcopal athuority) from around his shoulders & laied it gently on the tomb. was he thinking of quitting as early as then? (the book was published in 2012, so there's brief speculation on if he would)
the problem with the office of pope (one could argue there are several) is that they elect old men because they want experienced church leaders, but then there are often health problems that go along with old age that might affect their work. in 1966 paul VI urged all priests to retire at 75, for the sake of the church(he was 69 at the time). he himself ignored that advice and passed away in 1978.
tl:dr if you're interested in medieval history or are curious about the "other" pope who quit, of he own free will, read this book.
but it was a disaster almost form the word go. peter tried to run from the men who brought him the news. he offered indulgences to people he shouldn't have. andhe was under the influence of charles II, king of naples who ruled in the area peter lived. also he had no idea what it took to rule the church at that time. canon law was the big thing to know and he didn't. basically after a short while, he gave up and wanted to go home.
what's interesting, i think, is that benedict XVI visited the town where celestine V's shrine & tomb are in april of 2009 because of an earthquake in the area earlier in the month. he paused there for several moments removed the pallium (one of the principal symbols of a pope's episcopal athuority) from around his shoulders & laied it gently on the tomb. was he thinking of quitting as early as then? (the book was published in 2012, so there's brief speculation on if he would)
the problem with the office of pope (one could argue there are several) is that they elect old men because they want experienced church leaders, but then there are often health problems that go along with old age that might affect their work. in 1966 paul VI urged all priests to retire at 75, for the sake of the church(he was 69 at the time). he himself ignored that advice and passed away in 1978.
tl:dr if you're interested in medieval history or are curious about the "other" pope who quit, of he own free will, read this book.
