Pope Francis’s precarious health condition, which forced him to postpone his trip to Africa, has again sparked speculation about the possibility of his resignation, knowing that these speculations are not new in the corridors of the Holy See.
The Pope was due to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan from early July, but the trip has been postponed until further notice.
Many people’s questions intensified when they saw the expression of the Pope’s pain on his face in some of his speeches. Will he be able to travel to Canada for a visit scheduled for the end of July? Or the Vatican will be satisfied with the answer that there is a visit after all.
Since early May, the 85-year-old Argentine Jesuit Pope has been using a wheelchair, with or without a cane, due to severe pain in his right knee, and has received regular injections and physical therapy to relieve the pain, according to the Vatican, who is content with little information about the condition. Francis’ health.
A Vatican source confirmed that the treatment is “ongoing and bearing fruit,” but this rare change in the way the Holy See works has revived concerns about the pope’s ability to carry out his duties and fueled speculation that he might resign.
Italian expert on Vatican affairs Marco Politi, author of Francis, the Plague and the Renaissance, noted that this hypothesis is “repeated regularly”, adding that “these rumors are encouraged by the opponents of the Pope, who expect only one thing: that he is coming.”
In 2014, Francis himself helped reinforce this hypothesis, given that his predecessor, Benedict XVI, “legalized the pope” with his decision to step down.
On the other hand, other voices urge not to exaggerate, as a source in the Vatican told AFP: “Among the Pope, the majority largely does not believe in the possibility of resignation.”
Alberto Meloni, historian and secretary of the Religious Sciences Foundation, said: “Many years can pass from the moment it is said that the Pope is suffering from a serious illness … John Paul II’s illness began in 1993 and ended in 2005. “
He added: “These are questions that involve a desire to understand and reflect, and about which little can be said,” denouncing the “out-of-the-rule media hysteria focused on the Pope and the Church.”
In July 2021, there was speculation about the Pope’s health when he underwent complex colon surgery and had part of his lung removed as a young man, but this growing interest in the head of the Catholic Church is nothing new.
Source: AFP.