What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?
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A candle glimmers alongside a painting of Pope Francis at San Jose de Flores Basilica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worshipped as a youth. (AP)
What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?
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A photo of Pope Francis with a phrase that reads in Spanish: "Francis, the city prays for you" is projected onto the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 23, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 24 February 2025
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What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?
  • Pope Francis’ hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period
  • Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can’t run his diocese, but none for a pope

VATICAN CITY: While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated.
As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition with a complex lung infection, he is still pope and very much in charge.
Still, Francis’ hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period, or whether he might follow in Pope Benedict XVI’s footsteps and resign if he becomes unable to lead. On Monday, Francis’ hospital stay will hit the 10-day mark, equaling the length of his 2021 hospital stay for surgery to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon.
His age and prolonged illness has revived interest about how papal power is exercised in the Holy See, how it is transferred and under what circumstances. And it points to the legislative loophole that currently exists in what to do if a pope gets so sick that he can’t govern.
The Vatican Curia
Francis may be in charge, but he already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious or not.
Chief among them is the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Other Vatican functions are proceeding normally, including the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year celebrations.
What happens when a pope gets sick?
Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can’t run his diocese, but none for a pope. Canon 412 says a diocese can be declared “impeded” if its bishop — due to “captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity” — cannot fulfil his pastoral functions. In such cases, the day-to-day running of the diocese shifts to an auxiliary bishop, a vicar general or someone else.

Even though Francis is the bishop of Rome, no explicit provision exists for the pope if he similarly becomes “impeded.” Canon 335 declares simply that when the Holy See is “vacant or entirely impeded,” nothing can be altered in the governance of the church. But it doesn’t say what it means for the Holy See to be “entirely impeded” or what provisions might come into play if it ever were.
In 2021, a team of canon lawyers set out to propose norms to fill that legislative gap. They created a canonical crowd-sourcing initiative to craft a new church law regulating the office of a retired pope as well as norms to apply when a pope is unable to govern, either temporarily or permanently.
The proposed norms explain that, with medical advancements, it’s entirely likely that at some point a pope will be alive but unable to govern. It argues that the church must provide for the declaration of a “totally impeded see” and the transfer of power for the sake of its own unity.
Under the proposed norms, the governance of the universal church would pass to the College of Cardinals. In the case of a temporary impediment, they would name a commission to govern, with periodical medical checks every six months to determine the status of the pope.
“At first, the promoting group was accused of imprudently choosing topics that were too sensitive and controversial,” said one of the coordinators, canon lawyer Geraldina Boni.
But then, “a widespread consensus formed,” she told The Associated Press. Even Francis’ own canon lawyer, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, acknowledged some sort of norms were necessary if the pope “incurably, then irreversibly, lost consciousness or otherwise the ability to perform human acts.”
“The problem is, who declares that the pope is in a situation where he cannot govern?” he told Italian daily Il Giornale in 2022.
Ghirlanda largely backed the crowd-sourcing initiative’s idea, proposing a committee of medical experts to determine if the pope’s condition is irreversible. If they confirm it is, the Rome-based cardinals would be summoned to declare the pope cannot govern, triggering a conclave.
 




A photo of Pope Francis with a phrase that reads in Spanish: "Francis, the city prays for you" is projected onto the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 23, 2025. (AP)

What about the letters?
Francis confirmed in 2022 that shortly after he was elected pope he wrote a letter of resignation, to be invoked if he became medically incapacitated. He said he gave it to the then-secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and said he assumed Bertone had delivered it to Parolin’s office when he retired.
The text is not public, and the conditions Francis contemplated for a resignation are unknown. It is also not known if such a letter would be canonically valid. Canon law requires a papal resignation to be “freely and properly manifested” — as was the case when Benedict announced his resignation in 2013.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI wrote letters to the dean of the College of Cardinals hypothesizing that if he were to become seriously ill, the dean and other cardinals should accept his resignation. The letter was never invoked, since Paul lived another 13 years and died on the job.
What happens when a pope dies or resigns?
The only time papal power changes hands is when a pope dies or resigns. At that time, a whole series of rites and rituals comes into play governing the “interregnum” — the period between the end of one pontificate and the election of a new pope.
During that period, known as the “sede vacante,” or “empty See,” the camerlengo, or chamberlain, runs the administration and finances of the Holy See. He certifies the pope’s death, seals the papal apartments and prepares for the pope’s burial before a conclave to elect a new pope. The position is currently held by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the head of the Vatican’s laity office.
The camerlengo has no role or duties if the pope is merely sick or otherwise incapacitated.
Likewise, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who would preside at a papal funeral and organize the conclave, has no additional role if the pope is merely sick. That position is currently held by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91.
Earlier this month, Francis decided to keep Re on the job even after his five-year term expired, rather than make way for someone new. He also extended the term of the vice-dean, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81.
 


Bruce Lee Club closes archive doors citing operating costs

Bruce Lee Club closes archive doors citing operating costs
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Bruce Lee Club closes archive doors citing operating costs

Bruce Lee Club closes archive doors citing operating costs
  • In a statement, the club wrote that the social movement followed by the Covid-19 pandemic had “severely disrupted” plans for the archive
  • “We anticipated a recovery, yet reality fell short“

HONG KONG: Bruce Lee aficionados gathered at a Hong Kong mini-museum dedicated to the legendary martial artist to bid farewell to the site on Tuesday, as operating expenses forced the itinerant archive to close once again.

The Bruce Lee Club, which was founded by the Lee family, had put a collection of about 2,000 artefacts, including decades-old magazines and a large sculpture showing the superstar’s iconic moves, on display in the bustling Yau Ma Tei neighborhood in 2001. But a rent increase shut the project in 2016.

Three years and a move to industrial Kwun Tong later, the club began welcoming visitors to see the collection again just before democracy protests roiled the city, dampening tourism.

In a statement, the club wrote that the social movement followed by the Covid-19 pandemic had “severely disrupted” plans for the archive.

“We anticipated a recovery, yet reality fell short,” it said. “The accumulated expenses over these six years have compelled us to rethink how to most effectively utilize our resources to sustain the flame of Bruce Lee’s spirit.”

It added that it will “explore new ways” to engage with the public, but for now, ahead of what would have been Lee’s 85th birthday, it is shutting shop.

At least temporarily, all the assorted ephemera related to the Hong Kong icon will be boxed up and stored.

Born in San Francisco in 1940, Bruce Lee was raised in British-run Hong Kong and had an early brush with fame as a child actor. He later became one of the first Asian men to achieve Hollywood stardom before his death at the age of 32.

At the unassuming Kwun Tong archive on Tuesday, visitor and martial arts coach Andy Tong called it a “great pity” to lose the place.

“(Lee) helped build the image of the Chinese and overseas Chinese in the Western world,” Tong, 46, said.

While the superstar is widely beloved and celebrated in the city, with frequent retrospectives and exhibitions staged, fans have struggled to ensure organized and systematic preservation.

In 2004, petitioners successfully managed to get a bronze statue of Lee installed on Hong Kong’s famed harborfront, but a campaign to revitalize his former residence failed to spare it from demolition in 2019.

Bruce Lee Club’s chairman W Wong said the Hong Kong government lacks long-term and continuous planning for preserving Lee’s legacy.

But he added the Club “will never give up” their dedication to championing Lee’s spirit.
“Although Bruce has passed away, his spirit continues to inspire people of all kinds,” Lee’s 76-year-old brother Robert Lee told AFP.

“I believe, rather than hope, the spirit of Bruce Lee will forever remain here (in Hong Kong).”


Former Russian deputy defense minister is sentenced to 13 years for corruption

Former Russian deputy defense minister is sentenced to 13 years for corruption
Updated 01 July 2025
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Former Russian deputy defense minister is sentenced to 13 years for corruption

Former Russian deputy defense minister is sentenced to 13 years for corruption
  • Ivanov was arrested in April 2024 on suspicion of taking bribes
  • Ivanov, who had pleaded not guilty, was also stripped of all his state awards

MOSCOW: Former Russian deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov was found guilty of corruption on Tuesday and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Ivanov was arrested in April 2024 on suspicion of taking bribes, and investigators added new embezzlement charges in October.

His case is part of the biggest slew of corruption scandals to hit the Russian defense establishment in years. More than a dozen people, including two other former deputy ministers, have been arrested in a series of investigations.

Ivanov, who had pleaded not guilty, was also stripped of all his state awards. His lawyer said he would appeal.

State media reported that the total sum alleged to have been embezzled by Ivanov and others was 4.1 billion roubles ($48.8 million), mostly in the form of bank transfers to two foreign accounts.

The trial took place behind closed doors on grounds of state secrecy. A former subordinate of Ivanov, Anton Filatov, was sentenced to 12-1/2 years.

Russian media said Ivanov and his wife owned a luxury apartment in central Moscow, a three-story English-style mansion on the outskirts of the capital and an extensive collection of classic cars including a Bentley and an Aston Martin.

Ivanov’s arrest last year was celebrated by Russia’s “Z-bloggers,” an influential group of war correspondents and analysts who support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine but argue that front-line troops have been let down by the military top brass, whom they have frequently portrayed as incompetent, out-of-touch and corrupt.


Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills three

Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills three
Updated 01 July 2025
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Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills three

Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills three
  • Ukraine security source says Kyiv targeted a drone manufacturer in Izhevsk
  • Attack took place 1,000km inside Russia - one of the furthest of the three-year conflict

MOSCOW: Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian city of Izhevsk on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding dozens in one of the deepest strikes inside Russia of the three-year conflict, authorities said.
Izhevsk, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the front line, has arms production facilities including factories that make attack drones and the world-famous Kalashnikov rifle.
A Ukraine security services source said Kyiv had targeted an Izhevsk-based drone manufacturer and that the attack had disrupted Moscow’s “offensive potential.”
Unverified videos posted on social media showed at least one drone buzzing over the city, while another showed a ball of flames erupt from the roof of a building.
The region’s head said the drones hit an industrial “enterprise,” without giving detail.
“Unfortunately, we have three fatalities. We extend our deepest condolences to their families,” Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurt Republic, where Izhevsk is located, wrote on Telegram.
“I visited the victims in the hospital. At the moment, 35 people have been hospitalized, 10 of whom are in serious condition.”
Russian forces in turn struck the town of Guliaipole in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, causing “casualties and fatalities,” Ukraine’s southern defense forces said, without specifying numbers.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled in recent weeks.
The two sides held direct talks almost a month ago but Moscow has since stepped up deadly strikes on Ukraine.
Kyiv’s military chief vowed in June to increase the “scale and depth” of strikes on Russia, warning Ukraine would not sit back while Moscow prolonged its offensive.
Moscow’s army has ravaged parts of east and south Ukraine while seizing large swathes of territory.
An AFP analysis published Tuesday found that Russia dramatically ramped up aerial attacks in June, firing thousands of drones to pressure the war-torn country’s stretched air defense systems and exhausted civilian population.
Moreover, in June, Moscow made its biggest territorial gain since November while accelerating advances for a third consecutive month, according to another AFP analysis based on data from US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In another sign of an intensifying offensive, a top Kremlin-installed official claimed on Monday that Russia was now in full control of Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Russia of dragging out the peace process — something that Moscow denies.
“We are certainly grateful for the efforts being made by Washington and members of Trump’s administration to facilitate negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters including AFP on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump has pressed both sides to reach a ceasefire but has failed to extract major concessions from the Kremlin.


Poland to start controls on borders with Germany, Lithuania over migration

Poland to start controls on borders with Germany, Lithuania over migration
Updated 01 July 2025
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Poland to start controls on borders with Germany, Lithuania over migration

Poland to start controls on borders with Germany, Lithuania over migration
  • “We consider the temporary reintroduction of controls necessary to reduce the uncontrolled flows of migrants across the Polish-German border to a minimum,” Tusk said
  • Debate over migration in Poland has turned increasingly heated in recent weeks

WARSAW: Poland will introduce temporary controls along borders with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, echoing several other European Union countries in reimposing frontier checks to stem illegal migration.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany itself have also brought back border controls, underlining a public backlash against undocumented migration that has strained the EU’s Schengen passport-free travel zone.

“We consider the temporary reintroduction of controls necessary to reduce the uncontrolled flows of migrants across the Polish-German border to a minimum,” Tusk told a meeting of his cabinet.

Tusk’s liberal government has been accused by nationalist and far-right opposition parties of accepting numerous illegal migrants being sent back from Germany. The government had argued that the numbers were limited.

Debate over migration in Poland has turned increasingly heated in recent weeks, with far-right activists starting to organize patrols along the border with Germany.

Germany said in February that it was extending its own temporary border controls for six months.

Tusk, who has previously called on Berlin to do more to help its neighbors protect the EU’s external border, criticized Germany’s approach to migrants at its own frontier, saying it placed excessive pressure on Poland.

“Poland’s patient position after Germany formally introduced unilateral border controls is wearing out,” Tusk said.

He added that it had become difficult to determine whether migrants being sent from Germany to Poland should really be returned there under EU rules stating that migrants should apply for asylum in the first member state they enter.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday Germany wants to preserve the Schengen system, which allows passport-free movement, but this could only work if it was not abused by criminals who smuggle migrants.

“We know that the Polish government also wants to impose border controls with Lithuania in order to limit illegal border crossings from Lithuania to Poland,” Merz told a news conference. “So, we have a common problem here that we want to solve together.”

Knut Abraham, the German government’s commissioner for Poland, was critical of the tilt toward border restrictions.

“The solution cannot lie in pushing migrants back and forth between Poland and Germany or in cementing border controls on both sides,” he was quoted by Die Welt newspaper as saying.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told a news conference that the Polish government had informed him about its decision, BNS news agency reported.

“(We need to see) what measures should be most effective, while maintaining the expectation that they will not violate our common interest in having free movement of persons, and will also contribute to our goal of firmly and solidly protecting the external border of the EU and NATO,” BNS quoted him as saying.

Poland has been facing what it says is a migrant crisis orchestrated by Belarus and Russia on its eastern border since 2021. Both countries deny encouraging migrants to cross.


Indonesian president makes first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office

Indonesian president makes first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office
Updated 01 July 2025
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Indonesian president makes first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office

Indonesian president makes first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office
  • First meeting of Indonesia-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council scheduled for Wednesday
  • President Prabowo Subianto is accompanied by Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will attend the inaugural session of the Indonesia-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council this week, his first official trip to Saudi Arabia since taking office, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, who became president last October, left Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon for a three-day trip to the Kingdom. He is accompanied by Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar. 

Prabowo is scheduled to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Wednesday, the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“This state visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, particularly in strategic sectors, such as cooperation in economy and investment, energy security, and cooperation to serve Indonesia’s Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. The meeting will also be used as an avenue to discuss current regional and global issues, especially developments in the Middle East.” 

The coordination council was established in October 2023 by the crown prince and former Indonesian President Joko Widodo to align the strategic priorities of the two countries. 

From its first meeting, Indonesia is expecting “a number of deliverables in the form of MoU (memorandum of understanding), including between governments and businesses,” the foreign affairs ministry said. 

Jakarta has in recent years sought to enhance trade ties with Riyadh and gain a greater presence in the Middle East. 

Bilateral ties have traditionally focused on Hajj and Umrah as Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, sends the largest Hajj contingent of pilgrims every year. 

Indonesian and Saudi officials have been in talks to explore untapped potential in commerce, as trade and investment ties have been on the rise. Non-oil trade was worth about $3.3 billion in 2024, showing a 14.5 percent increase compared to 2020.

As part of the Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef’s visit to Jakarta in April, the Saudi Export-Import Bank and its Indonesian counterpart signed an agreement aimed at strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries. 

Al-Khorayef also signed a memorandum of understanding with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia to boost cooperation in the mining and minerals sector. 

Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves and has rich deposits of other minerals, including copper and bauxite. In 2023, its mining sector accounted for about 11.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.