Only in truly exceptional cases should they resign the pontiffs, Pope Francis said, adding that they must hold office for life

“It should not become a ‘habit’ in roman catholic church but only in exceptional cases,” the pope said in a private discussion with other Jesuits during a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These statements contradict previous ones, according to which the Francis he had said that longer life expectancies and advances in medicine could make it an institution for the church to have an outgoing pope.

The newspaper La Stampa published the comments today in an article by Father Antonio Spandaro, a Jesuit priest who attends the meetings and writes about them after the fact with the pope’s permission.

On February 2 in Kinshasa, Francis was asked about press reports that he may resign.

He repeated the comment he first made to a Spanish newspaper in December that several months after the 2013 election he gave a Vatican official a letter to be used if he ever had a serious health problem where he would be unconscious and unable to to make decisions.

“This, however, in no case it does not mean that the resignation of a pope should become, let’s say, a habit, something normal,” he declared. “I believe that the papacy should be lifelong. I don’t see why that shouldn’t be the case… historical tradition is important. If, instead, we hear different comments, then we should be changing the pope every six months,” he said.

In 2013, Pope Benedictciting his fragile physical and mental condition, was done the first pontiff which resigned within 600 years. He lived for nearly 10 more years and, according to senior advisers, maintained clarity of mind until just days before his death on December 31 last year.

The tone of Francis’ statements to the Africans Jesuits contradicts what he has said in the past when talking about possible resignations of the heads of the Roman Catholic church.

Returning from Canada last July, Francis said his advanced age and health problems made him realize he had to slow down or “decide to leave”. In August, he declared that popes who resign are humble.

In his discussion with African Jesuits this month, Francis said his own resignation for health reasons “is not on my agenda at the moment.”