They never do. Well, one did in 1415, but not because of health: he resigned because there were three popes at the time, and it was felt by many that this was too many and they needed to cut down the number some. This worked poorly, as the other two fought tooth and nail, but hey, he tried.
Kings and popes reign till death, customarily. Even presidents don't usually resign, though Nixon did. Wilson perhaps should have: he had an incapacitating stroke. He had a VP for such cases, but his wife thought she would just run the country, and she kept his condition secret.
This will throw the usual curia backstabbing into high gear, but also it will destabilize the situation --- if any pope may make a surprise announcement at any time like this one did, the usual close watch on pontifical health won't be enough for political maneuvering.
Does anyone care? I'm protestant, so I don't, but it's mildly historically interesting. I don't think it matters much, the Catholic sect is so seriously impaired by gross sexual scandal these days. They are no longer very powerful.
Kings and popes reign till death, customarily. Even presidents don't usually resign, though Nixon did. Wilson perhaps should have: he had an incapacitating stroke. He had a VP for such cases, but his wife thought she would just run the country, and she kept his condition secret.
This will throw the usual curia backstabbing into high gear, but also it will destabilize the situation --- if any pope may make a surprise announcement at any time like this one did, the usual close watch on pontifical health won't be enough for political maneuvering.
Does anyone care? I'm protestant, so I don't, but it's mildly historically interesting. I don't think it matters much, the Catholic sect is so seriously impaired by gross sexual scandal these days. They are no longer very powerful.