The Catholic News Agency is reporting that Pope Francis, after his recent trip to Canada, says he's going to have to stop his extensive travels or hang up his pope hat.
Pope Francis said Saturday that he is "open" to the possibility of retiring if he discerns that it is God's will.
"I think that at my age and with this limitation I have to cut back a little bit to be able to serve the Church or on the contrary think about the possibility of stepping aside," Pope Francis told journalists on the papal plane on July 30.
During an in-flight press conference on his return flight to Rome from Iqaluit, Canada, Francis said that "the Lord will say" when it is time to resign.
"The door is open. It's one of the normal options, but up to today I haven't knocked on that door," the pope said.
Pope Francis suggests retirement as one of the distinct possibilities for him.
His predecessor, Pope Benedict, retired but before that, it had been 600 years since a Pope retired.
From the Christian Post:
He clarified that he wasn't actively thinking of retiring and that he was just open to it. "But maybe that doesn't mean the day after tomorrow I will start thinking."
As a Jesuit, the pope said he will rely on "discernment."
The newswire said journalists asked the pope several times about the possibility of him resigning due to his health limitations. Francis has been suffering from knee pain and sometimes uses a wheelchair.
If the Pope feels he can't fulfill his duties he may decide to join Benedict in retirement, meaning we might live in a time with 3 living popes.
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