Pope Francis has announced that he intends to cut back on travel in the future. He could not continue with the same travel rhythm as before, he said at the so-called flying press conference on Saturday on the return flight from Canada to Rome.
Nevertheless, he says he wants to continue traveling. He also still hopes to visit Kyiv, Ukraine. “Maybe you have to change the way and make the trips a little shorter,” said the 85-year-old. The head of the church landed in Rome on Saturday morning.
He also emphasized that he still could not rule out a resignation as head of the Catholic Church. “The door is open. It’s a perfectly normal option,” he said. To date, however, he has not knocked on that door
He’s not thinking about resigning at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he can’t start the day after tomorrow, he said. “You can change the pope, that’s not a problem,” he said. God will say that.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as Francis is called in civil society, also addressed his state of health. For the past six days, he has been unable to take a few steps and has been confined to a wheelchair most of the time.
The Pope has been plagued by a knee injury for a long time. According to the Pope, an inflammation of the ligaments had become a broken bone. Since May, Francis has often been in a wheelchair during public appearances.
He was also dependent on the aid during the current trip. He had entered and exited the plane with an elevator.
“I don’t think I can continue with the same travel rhythm as before. When I think about my age and my limitations, I have to take it easy,” he said.
His knee problem could be solved with an operation, but Francis does not want to go under the knife again after the last operation on his colon a little over a year ago.
“The whole problem is the anesthesia,” he explained. This left its mark the last time until today. “You don’t play with anesthesia,” said the 85-year-old.
The Vatican had canceled a planned trip to Africa in early July due to the Pope’s ongoing knee problems. In Canada, he has been visiting indigenous people since Sunday to ask forgiveness for the violence and abuse they suffered as children in church-run boarding schools.
