Pope Francis does not rule out the possibility of stepping down as head of the Catholic Church due to his health problems. “The door is open. It’s a completely normal option,” the 85-year-old said Saturday evening in front of journalists on the return flight from his Canada trip to Rome. “You can change the Pope,” the Pope said.
He is not thinking of stepping down at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he can’t start the day after tomorrow, the pope said. “I don’t think I can keep the same pace as before. At my age and with this disability, I need to do some housework to serve the Church. Or, on the contrary, think of stepping aside. In all honesty. That wouldn’t be a disaster, would it? You can change the Pope. No problem!” said the Pope.
Pontifex does not want to go under the knife
The Pope has long been plagued by a knee injury. For the past six days he has been unable to take a few steps and has been in a wheelchair most of the time. His knee problem could be solved with surgery, but Francis doesn’t want to go under the knife after the last surgery on his colon just over a year ago. “The whole problem is the anesthetic,” he explained. This has left its mark the last time until today. “You don’t play with anesthesia,” said the 85-year-old.
Francis says he still wants to travel. In Canada, he has been visiting indigenous peoples since last Sunday to ask for forgiveness for the violence and abuse they suffered as children in Church-run boarding schools.
Pope speaks of genocide in dealing with indigenous peoples
The Pope sees a genocide in dealing with the natives of Canada there. “It’s true. This is genocide,” the head of the Catholic Church told reporters on Saturday evening on the return flight to Rome. He responded to criticism from Canadian Indigenous people. They were angry that Francis had not labeled the actions of church officials as cultural genocide.
The final report of the state-run Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which looked into decades of abuse and violence at Church boarding schools, came to the same conclusion. Now we only talk about genocide.
“It’s true, the word was not used, but I described the genocide and asked for apologies and forgiveness,” Francis said. Genocide is a technical term, but he didn’t use it because it hadn’t occurred to him.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
