Francis has repeatedly said he would step down if his health prevented him from leading the Roman Catholic Church
In the revelation that in 2013, after his election, he signed resignation letter which will be used in the event that at some point he will not be able to exercise his duties due to serious and unavoidable health problems, Pope Francis said in an interview published today.
THE Franciswho turned 86 yesterday and appears to be in good health, with the exception of a knee ailment, made these statements in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC.
Francis explained that he gave the letter to the Vatican’s then head of diplomacy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who has held this position since the tenure of the previous Pope Benedict. Bertone remained in that position for about six months after Francis was elected on March 13, 2013.
Francis has repeatedly said he would step down if his health prevented him from leading the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis was asked if he thought an official practice should be established for cases in which health problems or an accident make it difficult for the pope to carry out his duties.
“I have already signed my resignation. Tarcisio Bertone was the head of diplomacy. I signed it and told him: ‘In case of disability for medical or other reasons, here is my resignation,'” Francis reportedly said. “You have it. I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone might have given it to, but I gave it to him because he was the head of diplomacy,” said Francis, clarifying that this is the first time he is revealing this publicly.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency in July, Francis dismissed speculation that he would step down immediately and reiterated a position he has made several times publicly that he might step down at some point if his health prevents him from leading the Church – something that was almost unthinkable before the resignation of Benedict, now 95, in 2013. It was the first papal resignation in six centuries.
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