Pope Francis has admitted he has considered resigning despite acknowledging he can no longer travel as much as he used to because of strained knee ligaments after a trip to Canada.
Key Points:
- The Pope said the trip to Canada showed that it was necessary to slow down
- He said he had not considered resigning until now
- He strained ligaments in his right knee earlier this year and treatment forced him to cancel a trip to Africa
He said the week-long pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that showed he needed to slow down and one day possibly retire.
Speaking to reporters as he traveled home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old stressed that he had not considered resigning, but “the door is open” and that there was nothing wrong with a pope resigning .
“It’s not unusual. It’s not a catastrophe,” he said.
“You can change the pope.
Pope Francis said that while he had not considered resigning until now, he has realized that he must at least slow down.
“I think that at my age and with these limitations, I have to save [my energy] to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of taking a step to the side”, he said.
Pope Francis was filled with questions about the future of his pontificate after the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, a walker and a cane to get around, drastically limiting his schedule and his ability to mingle with crowds
Pope Francis said he had not considered resigning until now. (AP: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool)
He strained ligaments in his right knee earlier this year and continued laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.
The trip to Canada was difficult and featured several moments when Pope Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered himself up and down from chairs.
At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to the edge of the Arctic on Friday to apologize to indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in residential schools in the church of canada
He ruled out knee surgery, saying it wouldn’t necessarily help and noted that “there are still traces” of the effects of undergoing more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters of his large intestine .
“I will try to keep traveling and being close to people because I think it’s a way to provide service, to be close. But more than that, I can’t say,” he said.
AP