ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can now not journey like he used to due to his strained knee ligaments, saying his weeklong Canadian pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that confirmed he must slow down and in the future presumably retire.
Speaking to reporters whereas touring house from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis pressured that he hadn’t thought of resigning however mentioned “the door is open” and there was nothing improper with a pope stepping down.
“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he mentioned whereas sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news convention.
Francis mentioned that whereas he hadn’t thought-about resigning till now, he realizes he has to at the very least slow down.
“I think 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 stepping aside,” he mentioned.
Francis was peppered with questions on the way forward for his preach following the primary trip wherein he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get round, sharply limiting his program and skill to mingle with crowds.
He strained his proper knee ligaments earlier this 12 months, and persevering with laser and magnetic remedy compelled him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the primary week of July.
The Canada trip was troublesome, and featured a number of moments when Francis was clearly in ache as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.
At the tip of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, regardless of an extended day touring to the edge of the Arctic on Friday to once more apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential colleges.
Francis dominated out having surgical procedure on his knee, saying it could not essentially assist and noting “there are still traces” from the consequences of getting undergone greater than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to take away 13 inches of his giant gut.
“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he mentioned Saturday.