FUTURE Popes will have to retire at a fixed age, under secret plans being discussed by Roman Catholic cardinals, ending a tradition of service until death that has lasted two millennia.

According to senior Church sources, cardinals who will meet in conclave to elect the next Pope have discussed among themselves the need to choose someone who is open to a retirement age, probably 80.

They do not want a repeat of the past few years, when the ill-health of Pope John Paul II, 84, has forced him to take an increasingly light hand in directing the Church, responsible for the spiritual health of 1.1 billion believers.

The Church has, in effect, been run by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the ultraconservative head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose nickname is John Paul III but who, at 77, is considered too old to succeed him, and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Secretary of State.

Also at the heart of every decision is Joaquín Navarro-Valls, the celibate Opus Dei member, a qualified doctor who is the Pope’s press officer and most-trusted adviser.

The Pope was elected in 1978, making him the third longest-serving pontiff in history. He has survived one assassination attempt, a tumour and several other health scares, but Catholic officials believe that this could be the “beginning of the end”.

They confirmed that the Pope’s Parkinson’s disease, an illness that inexorably leads to paralysis of the throat muscles, was causing repeated restrictions of his throat, creating breathing difficulties that were being exacerbated by flu.

His decline has been gradual, over several years.

On some issues, such as the implacable opposition to condom use even in helping the fight against Aids, the resulting conservatism is seen to have damaged the Church’s credibility on the international stage.

A senior source said: “The Church needs direction. Even if it operates in a collegiate way, the Pope is clearly the boss. Therefore it is important to have someone who can continue to operate effectively.

“Although the Pope by his suffering has given witness, everyone knows that in terms of hands-on operation, he has not been hands-on for quite a bit now, for 18 months to two years.”

There are 184 cardinals worldwide in the Church, but those aged over 80 are not eligible to sit in conclave, leaving an electorate of 120. The conclave will not itself have the power to set a retirement age, but the source said that the conclave could be managed to ensure that a retirement age was imposed in future.

The cardinals last met as a group at a consistory called by the Pope in October 2003, but most serve on committees and meet regularly in Rome, where they discuss future policies with fellow cardinals.

“There is a large body of opinion among the cardinals that there should be a retirement age of 80 for the next Pope,” the source said.

“Of course, in a conclave they would not have an opportunity to question the candidates, but if someone was emerging they would have a chance to find out where they stood on that.”

Popes can abdicate, but hardly ever do. When the Pope’s health went into serious decline, there was speculation in Rome that he might invoke Article 332 of the Code of Canon Law and retire early, to Poland. But the Pope, like most of his predecessors, did not consider it his right and believed that it was up to God to decide when his papacy should end.

The last Pope to resign was Gregory XII, who quit in 1415 to end an era of schism. Celestine V, the founder of the Celestine Order, lasted a few months when he was elected at the age of 79 and abdicated in 1294. He was arrested by his successor and died in prison. A handful of earlier Popes also went early, but not by choice. They were mostly exiled.

The Pope’s latest illness has renewed speculation over his successor. Although there was such talk in the years since the assassination attempt in 1981, and many of the early favourites are themselves dead or too old, the apparent seriousness of the Pope’s health has given the process a new urgency.

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