(Nexstar) – Pope Francis remained in a critical state on Monday, but has shown slight improvements in clinical testing and resumed some work activities, the Vatican said Monday.
Health renewal occurs during the Pope’s long-term hospitalization at a Roman facility. There, doctors recently diagnosed the development of pneumonia in both his lungs and “slight” renal failure. They also expressed concern about the possibility of sepsis.
Meanwhile, Francis had previously said that if he became medically incapacitated, he would resign as Pope. In 2022, he already confirmed that he had already placed a pre-written letter of resignation to the Vatican Secretary of State at such an event, but would such letters be valid as standard? It is unknown whether or not (law requires law; the Pope’s resignation “was free and appropriate”). The pre-written conditions for resignation are also unknown to the public.
The woman is hanging near a candle decorated with a photo of Pope Francis outside Agostino Gemeri Polinic fighting pneumonia in Rome, Rome on Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP Photo/Gregorio) Borgia)
What’s even clearer is how the new Pope will be chosen. With the resignation or death of the Pope, a group of clergy known as Cardinal of University is called to be called to vote for the next clergy.
A baptized Roman Catholic man technically qualifies as the Pope. However, since 1379, the successor has been exclusively selected from Cardinal of University.
Currently, Cardinals University, a group that includes Vatican officials and bishops around the world, has 252 members. However, only those members under the age of 80 are permitted to vote for the next Pope. As of January 2025, a total of 138 members of Cardinal of University were eligible to vote. This is a pool that has grown significantly during his past few Pope tenure.
Who is eligible to become the next Pope?
These eligible members will meet at the Vatican for a meeting in the weeks following the death of the Pope or resignation, and “discuss the needs and challenges that the Catholic Church faces worldwide,” the Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said. I’ll explain it. Eventually, they voted in the Cathedral of St. Peter in the Vatican, “processing one at a time to Michelangelo’s fresco of the final judgment, saying prayers, and folding votes twice. I’ll drop it with it.” USCCB.
If the candidate has not won two-thirds of the vote, the process will be repeated up to four times per day (total). If the voting agency fails to reach the threshold when black smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel chimney, the public will be notified.
If two-thirds of the College of Cardinal College vote to select a particular candidate, that candidate will be asked if he accepts the role. If so, the vote will be burned with chemicals to create white smoke. It produces white smoke. This swirls from the chimney to signal the imminent official announcement of the new Pope.
A wave of white smoke from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013 indicates that Cardinal of College elected Pope Francis. (Peter MacDiarmid/Getty Images)
The Senior Cardinal of Butler (now Dominique François Joseph Manberty) is responsible for announcing the new Pope.
However, until then, and especially before the present Pope decides to resign or resign, it is considered a poor taste to speculate about the possibility of a particular cardinal becoming a pope.
“I think the dict “The Pope is fine until he’s dead” is always true,” said Giovanni Maria Vian, former editor of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, what the Romans will say. It talks about the old Italian proverb known for. Such an era.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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