An increasingly frail Pope Francis has revealed that he may soon need to consider resigning and would do so if he felt that his health was preventing him from serving as he should, the BBC reported.
The 85-year-old pope announced his intention to continue performing his duties for the time being with the belief that God will guide him on when to retire. According to him, the change of pope is not a disaster.
“It’s not a disaster to change the pope, it’s not a taboo,” he told reporters from a wheelchair on a plane from the Canadian Arctic to Rome.
“The door is open — this is a normal option, but to this day I have not knocked on this door. I didn’t feel the need to think about this possibility. That doesn’t mean I can’t start thinking about it in two days,” the pope said about the possibility of retiring.
In recent months, Pope Francis has been dealing with ongoing knee problems that have affected his mobility. He spent most of his visit to Canada in a wheelchair, and has admitted that there are growing concerns with his health. He previously rejected speculations about a more serious, life-threatening illness.
“This trip was intense. I don’t think that at my age and with the limitations of my knees I can continue to travel at the same pace as before. Either I need to conserve my strength a bit to continue serving the church, or I need to consider resigning,” he said.
