"Office for life"

Pope Francis is not even thinking about resigning

Pope Francis will not be an emeritus pontiff like his predecessor Benedict XVI.(Bild: AFP)

Pope Francis (87) will not become pontiff emeritus like his predecessor Benedict XVI. "I think that the Petrine ministry is for life and therefore I see no conditions for resigning," he said.

Francis said this in an interview with Italian Vatican journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona as part of his autobiography, which will be published on March 19 with the title "Life - My Story in History".

It tells the story of the Argentinian Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio, interwoven with the great events of history - from Hiroshima to the pandemic.

The Pope has many ailments to contend with.(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP)

On Thursday, the Milan daily "Corriere della Sera" was the first newspaper to publish some excerpts from the book, in which the pontiff talks a lot about his family, who emigrated from Piedmont in northern Italy to Argentina.

Pope ailing, appears weak
A possible resignation is also on the agenda, as the Pope has been struggling with health problems for months and appears very weak. He is still suffering from the effects of the flu and his cardinals often have to step in to deliver words of faith to his Catholic followers.

According to Pope Francis, a new conclave - i.e. the election of a successor - has already been considered in the Vatican in view of his state of health. During his hospital stays last year, there were one or two people "who preferred to campaign and were already thinking about a new conclave".

Resignation? "There is no such risk"
However, he currently has no serious reasons to consider resigning. "Perhaps someone has hoped over the years that sooner or later, perhaps after a stay in hospital, I would make such an announcement (that of resigning from office, ed.), but there is no such risk: thank God I am in good health and, God willing, there are still many projects to realize," Francis said.

"Would be a confessor again"
"I think that the Petrine ministry is for life and therefore I don't see any conditions for renouncing the office. Things would change if a serious physical disability were to occur. In this case, I already signed the letter of renunciation at the beginning of my pontificate, which is deposited in the Secretariat of State. In this case, I would not call myself Pope Emeritus, but simply Bishop Emeritus of Rome, and I would move to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore to be a confessor again and bring communion to the sick."

Disagreements with predecessor Benedict XVI denied
"I have observed with regret how his figure as Pope Emeritus has been instrumentalized over the years by unscrupulous people for ideological and political purposes," the Pope argued. "We decided together that it would be better for him not to live in seclusion, as Benedict had initially thought, but to meet people and participate in the life of the Church. Unfortunately, it was of little use, because the polemics of the last ten years have not failed to hurt us both."

Things would change if a serious physical disability were to occur. In this case, I already signed the letter of renunciation at the beginning of my pontificate.

Papst Franziskus

Since March 13, 2013, Francis has been the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first Latin American to hold this office.