In his own words, Pope Francis has already signed his resignation in case he is no longer able to exercise the office.
“I’ve already signed my waiver,” said the 86-year-old in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC. He did so when Tarcisio Bertone was Cardinal Secretary of State and pointed out to him that the explanation was in case he was unable to attend for medical reasons, the head of the Catholic Church said.
Bertone held the second-highest office in the church state until October 15, 2013. Jorge Mario Bergoglio previously became Pope Francis on March 13 of the same year. Bertone was considered a confidant of Pope Benedict XVI, who is now emeritus and who resigned as pontiff at the end of February 2013. “He’s a great man,” Francis said of Benedict in an interview with ABC. He still meets him often. Born in Bavaria, he has a “good sense of humor, is clear, very lively, speaks quietly, but follows the conversation”.
Rumors of Francis’ resignation keep popping up. “The door is open. It’s a completely normal option,” said the Argentine at the end of July on the return flight from his trip to Canada. Before that, he had stated in an interview that if he resigned he would want to stay in Rome, but not in the Vatican, and that in this case he would be “Bishop Emeritus of Rome”. That would be a different status than that of the Pope Emeritus, which Benedict XVI. Has.
Interview with Pope Francis on “ABC” (Spanish)
