The Pope Proposes, God Disposes
The following is a reflection by Fr. Alain Lorans (SSPX).
Day after day, the Press Office of the Holy See has announced the postponement – they do not yet dare to speak of cancellation – of Pope Francis’s trips. The sovereign pontiff now appears in a wheelchair, as was the case at the funeral of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, former Secretary of State, on May 31 at Saint Peter's Basilica.
On June 10, the Press Office reported that the pope had to postpone his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, scheduled for July 2-7. The statement said he had agreed, at the request of his doctors, not to compromise the results of the treatment of his right knee, which is still in progress.
The planned trip to Lebanon on June 11-12, 2022 has also been postponed indefinitely, but as it had not been officially announced by the Holy See, its postponement has not been the subject of a formal declaration.
We learned on June 13 that “because of the limitations imposed on the Pope by his knee pain,” he would not celebrate Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on Sunday, June 19, nor participate in the traditional procession of the Blessed Sacrament in through the Eternal City.
On the other hand, Kazakhstan is looking to host Francis for the 7th Congress of World and Traditional Religions, which will be held on September 14 and 15, in line with the Interreligious Day of Prayer for Peace, organized in Assisi by John Paul II, in 2002, when it was shamelessly declared – as already in 1986 – that they would “not pray together, but be together to pray!”
Last April 11, the Pope personally assured the Kazakh President of his participation in these days dedicated to the “role of world leaders and traditional religions in the socio-spiritual [sic] development of humanity in the post-pandemic period.”
However, Vaticanists who have a good memory remember that one of the reasons for Pope Benedict XVI's resignation from the sovereign pontificate on February 11, 2013, was the advice of doctors asking him to avoid long trips. The prospect of World Youth Days in Brazil, from July 23 to 28, 2013, had thus factored into his decision to withdraw.
This historical precedent raises questions about the ability of Pope Francis to continue a pontificate in which international travel occupies a prominent place.
Physically handicapped, pushed in a wheelchair, the pope certainly does not want to be treated like a cripple who could be pushed out, towards a specialized care unit. He intends to carry out the consistory of August 27, the trip to Kazakhstan in September, and the synod on synodality in October 2023.
But man, even if he be pope, proposes. And God disposes!
