On Feb. 14, Pope Francis, head of the worldwide Catholic Church and head of state of the Vatican City State, was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome due to bronchitis, a viral infection that inflames the bronchial tube’s lining. This inflammation narrows the airways, making it hard to breathe and causing coughing and fatigue. While in the hospital, Francis developed further infections including bilateral pneumonia, which is an infection in both lungs due to bacteria or viruses.
Due to the seriousness of his infections and illnesses, the concern regarding the possibility of Francis being replaced arose.
“My grandparents probably would be very judgmental [of a new pope],” said freshman Dash Reeves. “In the sense that they’re probably not ready to let go of [Francis] … [because] he did a whole bunch of work to make things better.”
Many feel older people would be much more sensitive to the election of a new pope.
“A lot of the older generation would definitely have shifting views on [a new pope],” said freshman Arianna Beltran. “But for a lot of my family, like my aunts, a lot of them converted to Christianity… from ritualistic Catholic beliefs. So in my family, it doesn’t matter as much, except for my Lola, my grandmother, on my Filipino side. She always likes to watch the news and livestream church things. So she would definitely pay attention to that.”
Some are not opposed to the idea of a new pope being elected.
“It could be good to have someone fresh because he’s been the pope for a while,” said junior Sarah Walter. “I [also] don’t think [a new pope] would change [the Catholic community] too much … a lot of people, specifically here, don’t really care [about the pope or] the Vatican probably because the people who are Catholic here take [Catholicism in] their own interpretation.”
Despite his list of health complications, Francis did not resign. However, he does not express direct opposition to the idea. Francis drafted a letter of resignation soon after becoming pope and around the time the former Pope Benedict resigned, stating that he did so out of the possibility of health complications that could prevent him from working. Nonetheless, he remained adamant in his belief that resignation should not be normalized, and that papacy should be for life.
“Traditionally, [the position would be filled] until the pope dies … I don’t think he should necessarily step down, because there have been a lot of very old popes, and that’s just how it is and how it’s been,” Beltran said.
The Vatican laws regarding the transfer of power to another pope do not apply if the current pope is sick, or even unconscious, and as such, Francis retains his title. Even though he is holding on to the position, Francis delegated his responsibilities to other council members to run the Vatican.
“[Delegation] was the right choice,” Walter said. “As people get older, they have health issues and they can’t make these big decisions.”
Francis spent nearly five weeks in the hospital, the second-longest time period a pope has been hospitalized or ill. He was discharged on March 23.
