Pope Francis said in an interview with Reuters that he is not thinking of resigning from his post, seeking to silence the rumors that have arisen because of the health problems he has faced (which have even forced him to move in a wheelchair) and for having scheduled an appointment. for August a consistory to create 21 more cardinals (most of them under 80 and therefore eligible to succeed him). At the same time, he will visit the shrine of Aquila, associated with Pope Celestine V, who resigned in 1294, and which Benedict XVI also visited four years before following his example in 2013.
Francis spoke of coincidences. “That never entered my mind. Not yet, really. But when the time comes when I see that I can’t do it [run the Catholic Church because of health problems], I’ll do it [resign]. And that was the great example of Pope Benedict XVI. It was a very good thing for the Church. He said that the Popes must stop in time,” he stated in the 90-minute interview. As to when he might be forced to resign, he said he didn’t know: “God will tell.”
This is not the first time that Francis denies that he is thinking about resigning, having also publicly rejected other rumors in the same direction, in September last year, after having undergone bowel surgery in July. To Reuters, the Pope recalled that in the operation that lasted six hours, 33 centimeters of the sigmoid colon was removed. Asked about rumors that cancer had been detected, he laughed. “I wasn’t told,” he said, then said in a serious tone that he didn’t have cancer. “These are court rumors. The court spirit still exists in the Vatican. And if you think about it, the Vatican is the last European court of an absolute monarchy.”
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