The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, but not when he is sick

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

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.