Pope Francis said Saturday that he can no longer travel as before due to knee ligament problems, saying his week-long pastoral trip to Canada was “a test” ripped out of him that he needs to slow down and possibly retire one day.
In a conversation with journalists on the return flight from Nunavut, the 85-year-old Argentine pontiff stressed that he had not thought of resigning but noted that “the door is open” and that there is nothing wrong with a pope resigning.
“This in all honesty: it’s not a catastrophe, you can change dad, no problem!” He said during the 45-minute press conference he offered sitting in a wheelchair inside the plane.
Francisco said that, although he had not considered the possibility of resigning until now, he is aware that, at a minimum, he must slow down.
“I think that at my age and with this limitation, I have to save a little (energy) to be able to serve the Church or, on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.
Francis answered a barrage of questions about the future of his pontificate after the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, greatly limiting his schedule and his ability to approach crowds.
He injured ligaments in his right knee earlier in the year, and laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa in the first week of July.
The visit to Canada was difficult and included several times when they experienced clear pain getting up and sitting on the chairs.
At the end of the six-day trip, he appeared to be in good spirits and energized, despite a long day of travel to the Arctic the day before, where he once again apologized to indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canadian boarding schools. managed by the church.
Francisco ruled out undergoing surgery for his knee problem and indicates that it would not help him despite everything. In addition, he said in his body “there are still traces” of the effects of undergoing another six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 for the removal of 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine.
“I will try to continue traveling and being close to people, because I think it is a way of serving, of being close. But more than that I cannot say, ”he said on Saturday.
During his talk with reporters, Francis acknowledged that the attempt to eliminate indigenous culture in Canada through a system of interns run by the Church amounted to cultural “genocide,” saying he did not use the term during the visit because it did not it occurred to him.
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission will prolong in 2015 that the forcible transfer of indigenous children from their homes to boarding schools for assimilation constituted “cultural genocide.”
“It is true that I did not use the word because it did not come to mind, but I described the genocide, right?” Francis said. “I asked for forgiveness, forgiveness for this work that is genocidal.”
On the other hand, he suggested that he is not opposed to the development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraceptive methods. Church teachings forbid artificial contraception. Francis said that a Vatican think tank recently published the proceedings of a congress where the modification of the institution’s blunt refusal was discussed.
He pointed out that Catholic doctrine can evolve over time and that it is the task of theologians to achieve these advances, on which the pope has a final word. He indicated, for example, that the doctrine on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider the mere possession of this type of weapon immoral, and not just its use, and to determine the immorality of the death penalty in all the cases.
On the other hand, he assured that he hopes to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September to participate in an interreligious conference in which he could meet Cyril I, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis said that he also wants to visit the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, a move that has not been confirmed by the Holy See.
The pope said he hopes to reschedule the visit to South Sudan, which was canceled due to his knee problems. The other part of that tour, which would have taken him to the Congo, would have to be postponed until next year due to the rainy season.
