“I don’t think I can keep up the same pace of travel as before. I think that at my age (85 years old), and with these limitations, I have to save my strength a little to be able to serve the Church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside.”
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For now “I haven’t thought about that possibility (resigning), but that doesn’t mean that the day after tomorrow I won’t think about it.”
These words, spoken by the Pope Francisco in the traditional press conference on the plane on his return from his strenuous tour of Canada, they once again raised the alarms about his continuity at the head of the Catholic Church and revived old versions about the possibility of a resignation given the health difficulties that hit to the Argentine pontiff and that are becoming more and more evident.
For now “I haven’t thought about that possibility, but that doesn’t mean that the day after tomorrow I won’t think about it,” clarified the priest, to later explain that his tour of Canada, where he apologized for the abuses –which he later called “genocide””– committed by some Church communities against thousands of native children over the years, was a kind of test to assess whether it could maintain its agenda of displacement, which includes Kazakhstan in September, and if possible Ukraineas well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.
“I will seek to continue making trips and being close to people, because I believe that closeness is a way of serving,” he added, to later return to talking about the resignation: “You can change your father (…) it is not a catastrophe , It is not a problem”.
“Now it is much easier to imagine a resignation because Benedict paved the way for that, which changed our perception”
Pope Francis is exactly the same age as his predecessor, Benedict XVI, when he decided to resign in 2013, the first to resign from the throne of Peter in almost 600 years because he “lacked the strength”, all amid the darkest scandals. of corruption and abuse in the Church, which he tried to guide with a conservative vision and very attached to the theological concepts, of which he was one of the most brilliant exponents of his generation.
However, the step aside given by the Pope Benedict XVI It shattered expectations regarding the term of office of the spiritual leader of Catholicism because it exposed the sensitive idea that the mission entrusted and guided by the Holy Spirit is no longer for life and that it could be subject to more earthly matters, such as political pressures, considerations about the convenience of the Church or even health.
“Now it is much easier to imagine a resignation because Benedict paved the way for that, which changed our perception,” experienced Vatican reporter Giovanna Chirri told The New York Times.
In fact, in an interview with the Reuters agency at the beginning of July, the Pope commented on a question about an eventual retirement: “But I will do it (resign) when the time comes when I see that I can no longer go on (… ). Also, that was the great example of Pope Benedict. It was a very good thing for the Church. He told the popes to stop in time. Benedict is one of the notables.”
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The idea of three popes in the Vatican is preposterous even for the most anticlerical, since the German pontiff still resides in a convent within the Vatican.
However, the idea of three popes in the Vatican is preposterous even for the most anticlerical, since the German pontiff still resides in a convent within the Vatican.
Francisco, who looks a bit overweight, underwent an operation last year intestinesuffers of sciatica and now of problems in the knee ligaments. Medical reports are limited and explanations very few.
However, the same pontiff explained that he will not undergo a knee operation, because he fears anesthesia, especially after last year’s colon surgery. “He doesn’t mess around with anesthesia and that’s why he thinks it’s not convenient,” he commented. “I suffered 6 hours of anesthesia and I still see the traces,” he recalled with absolute lucidity, which clears up comments about his mental health.
This is not the first pope in modern times to appear sick to the faithful. Many Catholics remember the last years of Polish Pope John Paul II (1978-2005), who presided over ceremonies hunched over and with speech problems due to Parkinson’s disease.
The decision, whatever it may be, will be dictated by “the will of the Lord (…) If the Lord tells you that you have to go to the corner, you go to the corner.
Francis, in a recent interview, assured that in the event that he decides to resign, he would like to keep the title of bishop emeritus of Rome and confess the faithful inside a Roman basilica.
Those who look to the actions of the Pope for signs of what his future may be do not overlook the fact that the pontiff Jorge bergoglio he is committed to a process of renewal of the curia and the formation of new cadres more in tune with his thinking.
The modernization of the liturgy and placing lay people and women in positions of responsibility go through this process, in addition to mentions of the acceptance of homosexuals within the Church or the ministry of non-celibate people in remote regions that have caused so much pain in the more conservative sectors. And in that sense, he is already preparing his successor.
On August 27, he will grant the title of cardinal to 21 new religious, of whom 16 will be able to participate in the conclave that will elect the next pontiff. With those appointments, the College of Cardinals It will be made up of 132 people with voting rights, the majority appointed by Francis, who will decide the future of the Church and his replacement in case of death or resignation.
But as he himself said, the decision, whatever it may be, will be dictated by “the will of the Lord (…) If the Lord tells you that you have to go to the corner, you go to the corner.”
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With Agencies AFP and Efe
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