By CONSTANT BRAND, Associated Press
MECHELEN,
Belgium - One of Europe's most influential cardinals called Monday
for a debate on limiting the term of the papacy but denied he
was hinting that Pope John Paul II should resign.
Cardinal Godfried
Danneels of Belgium is the highest-ranking churchman to go public
with calls for a discussion on possible term limits for the papacy.
But Danneels
insisted Monday he never meant to suggest in a new book that John
Paul should end his 22-year tenure as head of the Roman Catholic
Church.
"If you
see how much work ... leaders do, I don't see how, with a person
80, 90 or 100 years old, that person can maintain a tradition
... that a pope never resigns," Danneels said Monday at a
book launch.
But, he added,
"What I didn't want to say is that this pope should resign,
that he should leave or that I should want him to leave or that
he isn't doing a good job."
In his book,
"Frankly - Six Discussions with the Cardinal," Danneels
suggested John Paul might consider stepping aside next year, now
that he has achieved his dream of leading the church into the
new millennium.
"I wouldn't
be surprised if the pope also retired after 2000. He absolutely
wanted to reach the Jubilee year, but I believe he would retire
afterward," wrote Danneels, who has been mentioned as possible
successor for John Paul.
Danneels'
book prompted a quick response from the Vatican, which said the
cardinal's comments were his personal opinion only.
On Monday,
Danneels urged opening a debate on limiting the term of the papacy.
"People
find it unthinkable that a pope should resign," he said,
adding that the time will come soon when a term limit will be
expanded from other clergy levels to the papacy itself.
"This
will likely become a thinkable reality," he said.
While church
law provides for a papal resignation, there is no procedure to
declare incapacity.
John Paul,
who will be 81 in May, has grown increasingly frail. His speech
is slurred and his hands tremble, both symptoms associated with
Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder. Since
hip surgery following a fall in his bathroom in 1994, he has had
difficulty walking and climbing stairs.
Still, he
has never signaled any intention of stepping down, often speaking
of his duty and how he has come to terms with his advancing years.
Navarro-Valls, his spokesman, said recently the pope plans to
keep up his travels, mentioning such locations as Syria, Malta,
Ukraine and Australia.
Several other
clergy have raised the issue of the pope stepping aside. A top
German bishop, Karl Lehmann, said in February he thought the pope
would step down if he thought he could no longer lead the church.
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