While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated.

A legislative gap in the Vatican's laws leaves Pope Francis in charge despite his severe illness. An initiative to rectify this has gained support, suggesting a process involving medical evaluations and the college of cardinals to manage the Church in case of papal incapacity.

A scholar of global Catholicism writes how Francis has opened the church to the outside world in ways no pope had done before.