Just days before submitting his resignation as Archbishop of São Paulo, as he was required to when he turned 75, Arns told a Brazilian newspaper that he had told Pope John Paul II that he allowed the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, "too free a rein". He said the pope had replied "You are mistaken. The curia is the pope" and that he in turn had strongly disagreed. He explained to his interviewer: "My impression is that the curia is governing the church."