Pope Francis has dismissed reports that he plans to step down in the near future, saying he is on his way to Canada this month and hopes to visit Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible afterwards.
In an interview with Reuter at the Vatican, the Pope also denied rumours he had cancer, joked that his doctors “didn’t tell me anything about it,” and for the first time gave details of the condition of his crippled knee.
In a 90-minute conversation on Saturday afternoon, conducted in Italian in the absence of any helpers, the 85-yr-old Pope also reiterated his condemnation of abortion following the US Supreme Court ruling last month. He has said in the past that abortion is completely against God and the teachings of Jesus. He said it’s the work of the devil to take an innocent child’s life. He compared abortion to that of hiring a hitman to take out an innocent baby whose life begins at conception.
There were rumours in the media that a convergence of events at the end of August, including meetings with cardinals from around the world to discuss a new Vatican constitution, an enthronement ceremony for new cardinals and a visit to the Italian city of L’Aquila, could announce the resignation .
He said that he has no immediate plans to retire but that God will decide if that is something he should look at down the road. For now, however, he says that he’s healthy, happy and will do what he can for the time being.
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