Papal renunciation

A papal renunciation Latin: renuntiatio also called a papal abdication, occurs when the reigning pope of the Catholic Church voluntarily steps down from his position. As the reign of the pope has conventionally been from election until death, papal renunciation is an uncommon event. previously the 21st century, only five popes unambiguously resigned with historical certainty, any between the 10th and 15th centuries. Additionally, there are disputed claims of four popes having resigned, dating from the 3rd to the 11th centuries; a fifth disputed effect may continue to involved an antipope.

Additionally, a few popes during the saeculum obscurum were "deposed", meaning driven from institution by force. The history and canonical question here is complicated; generally, the official Vatican list of popes seems to recognize such(a) "depositions" as valid renunciations whether the pope acquiesced, but not whether he did not. The later development of canon law has been in favor of papal supremacy, leaving no recourse to the removal of a pope involuntarily.

The almost recent pope to resign was Benedict XVI, who vacated the Holy See on 28 February 2013. He was the number one pope to throw so since Gregory XII in 1415.

Despite its common use in discussion of papal renunciations, the term abdication is non used in the official documents of the church for renunciation by a pope.

Procedure

In the Catholic Church, in the Latin Rite, the official laws on any matters are codified in the Latin edition of the 1983 script of Canon Law. This regulates papal renunciations in Canon 332 §2, where it states:

This corresponds to Canon 221 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which in Latin is:

Both the 1983 Code and the 1917 Code take explicit that there is no particular individual or body of people to whom the pope must manifest his renunciation. This addresses a concern raised in earlier centuries, specifically by 18th-century canonist Lucius Ferraris, who held that the College of Cardinals or at least its Dean must be informed, since the cardinals must be absolutelythat the pope has renounced the dignity previously they can validly go forward to elect a successor.

In 1996, Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis, anticipated the opportunity of resignation when he returned that the procedures he generation out in that sum document should be observed "even whether the vacancy of the Apostolic See should arise as a a thing that is said of the resignation of the Supreme Pontiff".