Pope Proposes Abandoning the Papacy After Coming to Realization on Canada Trip
Jack Davis, Western Journal, August 1, 2022
(https://www.westernjournal.com/pope-proposes-abandoning-papacy-coming-realization-canada-trip/)
Pope Francis raised the issue of retiring from the papacy Saturday, noting that his recent six-day trip to Canada tested his limits.
Calling the trip “a bit of a test,” the 85-year-old pope said he had not thought of resigning, but “the door is open” to doing so, according to KDFW.
“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said aboard his plane while sitting in a wheelchair to speak to the media.
During his visit, he apologized for church-run schools in Canada that separated families by taking children from their parents, according to The New York Times.
“Today, too, in this place, I want to tell you how very sorry I am and to ask for forgiveness for the evil perpetrated by not a few Catholics,” he said, adding, “How evil it is to break the bonds uniting parents and children.”
On his return, the pope said he had come to realize his limits.
“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said, KDFW reported.
The pope used a variety of aids including a wheelchair, walker and cane during the trip. Francis strained ligaments in his right knee earlier this year, and treatment for that forced him to cancel a planned trip to Africa last month.
The pope has ruled out surgery on his knee, citing the lingering effects of intestinal surgery last year.
“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said.
The pope spoke about the forced efforts to eliminate the culture of Indigenous People in Canada when asked about the use of the term genocide.