Pope Francis still does not rule out resigning as head of the Catholic Church. “The door is open. That’s a completely normal option,” said the 85-year-old on the return flight from his Canada trip to Rome in front of journalists on Saturday night. He’s not thinking about resigning at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he can’t start the day after tomorrow, he said.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as Francis is called in civil society, also addressed his state of health. For the past six days, he has been unable to take a few steps and has been confined to a wheelchair most of the time. The Pope has been plagued by a knee injury for a long time. “I don’t think I can continue with the same travel rhythm as before. When I think about my age and my limitations, I have to take it easy,” he said.
His knee problem could be solved with an operation, but Francis does not want to go under the knife again after the last operation on his colon a little over a year ago. “The whole problem is the anesthesia,” he explained. This left traces the last time until today. “You don’t play with anesthesia,” said the 85-year-old.
In his own words, Francis still wants to continue to travel. You just have to plan them a little smaller. In Canada, he has been visiting indigenous people since Sunday to ask forgiveness for the violence and abuse they suffered as children in church-run boarding schools.
