Pope Francis is facing rumors that he will soon be resigning from the papacy due to declining health conditions after he lost half of his colon removed during a surgery.
However, the religious figurehead put to rest the controversies during a meeting with over a dozen Catholic bishops who were visiting the Vatican from Brazil. The pope told visiting Archbishop Roque Paloschi that resigning from the Holy See "does not cross his mind."
Is Pope Francis Leaving His Post?
But Pope Francis did not feign great health, as he reportedly told bishops that he was already facing many difficult challenges but that he wished to live the life God gave him until the end. The private, seemingly off-hand comment put to rest weeks of speculation that the religious leader was considering stepping down from his papacy.
The rumors of his resignation plans first emerged after his appointment with new cardinals amid reports of his health challenges and the cancellation of multiple apostolic engagements. The pope added fuel to the rumors when he announced that he would be visiting the central Italian city of L'Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013, as per Fox News.
However, close papal advisor Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga previously dismissed the rumors as a "cheap soap opera." The rumors also come as last July, the pope underwent surgery on his colon and was hospitalized for nearly two weeks.
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Since the operation, the pontiff has regularly complained of knee pain and other side effects that make mobility and physical exertion challenging. On Wednesday, Pope Francis spoke to his General Audience about the effects of old age, elderly frailty, and the virtue of helplessness.
According to the Washington Post, the pope said that the pain became obvious roughly five months ago. He said that he had an "inflamed ligament in the knee," noting that the condition was common among the elderly.
Health Concerns
Pope Francis described the problem and noted that it would soon pass, but by late April he said that his right knee was "still not healing." Soon after his statement, he was already forced to use a wheelchair to move around.
He told pilgrims one morning that he could not greet them on foot as he usually does, saying that he, "would like to apologize." Pope Francis is still hoping to restore his mobility; but in the meantime, his day-to-day life has changed drastically along with the very image of his pontificate, being 85 years old, his frailty is impossible to miss.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected to the papacy in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI stepped down at the age of 85 years old. The pope reportedly does not want to undergo surgery on his knee, despite the pain, and was quoted as telling bishops in May that rather than operate, he would "resign."
The pope has been relatively open about his struggles due to his health conditions, saying that the elderly must accept their physical limitations. "When we are old, we cannot do the same things we did when we were young," Francis said, the New York Post reported.
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