Can a Pope Resign?

As Pope John Paul II's health plummeted, speculation around the world was that he might resign or retire. We watched as a frail Pontiff managed to carry on as head of the Roman Catholic Church, his body ravaged by Parkinson's disease and other ailments.

But would he have been allowed to resign or retire? Can Popes opt out of the burden of the papacy?

According to Popechart.com, a Pope is permitted to resign. However, no one has to accept the resignation. If it was accepted, the vacancy would be filled by the normal voting procedure.

Canon 332 of Roman Catholic Church law stipulates that when a Pope resigns, owing to the fact he is the Supreme Pontiff, nobody has to accept his resignation. It reads:

"If it should happy that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone."

Sounds like if they don't want him to go, it's a moot point, right?

Boniface VIII (1294-1303), successor to Celestine V, actually formalized by decree the Pope's right to resign. He wrote that after having carefully deliberated with the Cardinals, by Apostolic authority, a Pontiff could resign.

So far, four Popes have give up their office. They include Benedict IX (1033-1044), Gregory VI (1044-1046), Celestine V (1294-1303), and Gregory XII (1406-1415). By far the most interesting was Celestine V.

According to his biography, Celestine V was born in 1215 in the Neapolitan province of Moline. He was elected to the papacy at Perugia on July 5, 1294 and consecrated and crowned the same year.

Born Pietro Angelerio, he was the eleventh of twelve children in a family of poor but pious peasants. An intelligent child, he had a penchant for asceticism and solitude. In 1239, he retired to a solitary cavern on a mountain, where he tried to live as strictly as possible, following the example of St. John the Baptist.