John Adoyi, PBA Journalism MenteeAfter a six-day trip to Canada, Catholic Supreme leader, Pope Francis said he needs to minimise his travels due to health challenges or retire if the need arises.
Speaking with reporters at the Vatican, the Pope said “I don’t think I can go at the same pace as I used to travel.”
“I think that at my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church. Or, alternatively, to think about the possibility of stepping aside.”
“The door is open, it’s one of the normal options, but up until now I haven’t knocked on this door,” he said Saturday.
“But that doesn’t mean the day after tomorrow I don’t start thinking, right? But right now I honestly don’t.
“Also this trip was a little bit the test. It is true that you cannot make trips in this state, you have to may be, change the style a little bit, decrease, pay off the debts of the trips you still have to make, rearrange.
“But the Lord will tell. The door is open that is true.”
Pope Francis, who is 85 has been suffering from a knee problem that left him spending most of his time on a wheel chair.
Recall that Francis’s predecessor, Benedict the 16th, also retired in 2013, siting health challenges.
If Pope Francis eventually retires, this will make him the second Pope to Retire within a decade.
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