Pope Francis has said he can no longer travel as much as he used to because of strained knee ligaments, saying his week-long Canadian pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and possibly one day withdraw
Speaking to reporters as he traveled home from northern Nunavut, Francis, 85, stressed he had not considered resigning, but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with resigning. a pope
“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said.
“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.
It was not the first time that Francis had said that, should his health require it, he could follow his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who made history in 2013 by resigning due to deteriorating physical and mental health.
Francis used a wheelchair, a walker and a cane to get around during his journey.
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 Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered himself up and down from chairs.
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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
Francis ruled out knee surgery, saying it would not 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 (13 in ) of your large intestine. .
“I’ll 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 on Saturday.
Pope Francis: Genocide clearly took place in Canada’s indigenous schools – video
During his six-day “penitential pilgrimage” across Canada this week, the Pope offered a historic apology to First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, who have been waiting years for such recognition from the head of the 1.3 billion Catholics of the world.
On board the papal plane, he used the word “genocide” to describe the decades of abuse and sexual abuse against Canada’s indigenous children, who were torn from their families and cultures to attend public schools run by church
“I didn’t say the word [in Canada] because it didn’t occur to me, but I did describe the genocide. And I apologized for this process which was a genocide,” he told reporters.
While Francis’ unprecedented apology was welcomed across Canada, many survivors said much more needed to be done for reconciliation.
The trip to Canada was Francis’ 37th international trip since becoming pope in 2013.