T The only living organism I know that can still run on its feet without a head is the centipede. But even then it can only do that for a couple of minutes. Other organizations and institutions that are governed by their constitution and by-laws have provisions for automatic succession by the next in command in case a permanent vacancy suddenly occurs. In democracies, heads of states or their political subdivisions are elected ahead of time long before the vacancy occurs by reason of term of office. The same is true with corporations. This is because the head is the most important part of any living thing or institution. Remove the head and the thing or the institution dies. Every boxer knows that no opponent could be knocked out cold with the strongest punches on the body. The Catholic Church is now three days without a head and it will continue to be so at least in the next five days after Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the highest position of the Church that Jesus Christ established – the Papacy. But it is still living without any sign of weakening at least to the eyes of its faithful. Pope Benedict the XVI surprised the whole world (I would really like to say ‘shocked’) when he announced his resignation, the first in 600 years, for reason of health. Under the laws of the Catholic Church, the Pope is a Pope until he dies. But Pope Benedict XVI said he could no longer carry on the duties and responsibilities of the Papacy.

Normally if the vacancy is by reason of death, all the ‘Popable’ cardinals cloister themselves into a conclave after 15 days to choose the next successor to St. Peter. Pope Benedict XVI amended that so they can convene the earliest time possible. Okay those are canon matters of the Church that can be changed by the Pope being the head of a dictatorial organization. (The Catholic Church is a dictatorial organization.) But can the Pope resign? “Of course,” you will say, “he just did”. What I mean is, can he resign without making permanent changes in the tradition of the Church or even hint changes in the doctrine of the Catholic faith? Is the Papacy just a matter of function that one at the helm can just resign if and when he feels that he could no longer make it functional? Isn’t the Pope ordained by the Holy Spirit through the Cardinals and therefore the Papacy is sacred and cannot be given up except through death? Could St. Peter have rejected his appointment by Jesus Christ to be the head of the church that He founded? What would have happened if Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross and suffering unbearable pain said, “Father I could not complete the mission that You have given me to save man from sin. I am giving it up and I will go down from this cross in five minutes.”

Can’t the Pope not exact performance from those he has appointed head of the different commissions or departments of the church? We know the church is facing innumerable challenges in the face of modernism and the scandals that rocked the whole being of the church. But what happened to the Rock on which Jesus built His church? Is the rock cracking into pieces? Is the weight of the Papacy now heavier that the sin of man that made the Word flesh? These are just some of the questions that come up my mind as a faithful who does not only want to believe but also know my faith. The more I know the less I believe and as such I will be a better and stronger member of the church. If physical ability were to be central to the competence of the Papacy then let us pray that the Conclave will be guided by the Holy Spirit to choose a young Pope this time. Whoever is chosen next Pope, let us pray that he weathers all the problems of the Papacy that brought down Pope Benedict XVI to his knees. To give up the Papacy was the humblest thing that a most powerful man can do. In the Philippines, the powerful men cannot be brought down from power by any problem or scandal in the world. In fact they don’t only continue to hold on to power, they also would like to bequeath power to all members of their family if only to keep themselves in the “papacy” of government.