Vatican –
Pope francesco revealed that after being elected in 2013, he signed a letter of resignation to be used if a serious and permanent health problem renders him unable to perform his duties.
Reported ReutersSunday (12/18/2022), this was revealed Pope francescowho turns 86 on Saturday and appears to be in good health except for a sore knee, in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC.
Pope Francis acknowledged having delivered the letter to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, which is a holdover from Benedict XVI’s previous pontificate. Bertone remained in that position for about six months after the pontiff, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected on March 13, 2013.
Pope Francis has often said that he would have resigned if health had distracted him from leading the Roman Catholic Church of 1.3 billion people worldwide.
“I signed my resignation. Tarcisio Bertone is the foreign minister. I signed it and told him: ‘In case of impediment for medical or other reasons, here is my resignation'”, said Pope Francis.
Pope Francis responded to the question of whether he believes official rules should be established for cases where health problems or accidents stand in the way of a pope.
“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone may have given it to, but I gave it when he was foreign minister,” said Pope Francis, adding that it was the first time he had made it public.
In an interview with Reuters in July, Pope Francis dismissed speculative rumors that his resignation was imminent and reiterated that he might one day resign if ill health made it impossible for him to lead the Church — something that would have been almost unthinkable. before Benedict XVI. XVI. . who is currently 95, resigned in 2013. It was the first papal resignation in six centuries.
Since July, Pope Francis has made three international trips to Canada, Kazakhstan and Bahrain and plans to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan from January 31 to February 5, 2023.
Pope francesco he was due to make the trip last July but his knee problems forced the delay. He now uses a cane for short walks and a wheelchair for long distances indoors.
In the ABC interview, Pope Francis said he believed Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) and Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) had signed similar resignation letters. However, both popes died in office.
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(is/imk)
