Skip to main content

Catholics Should Brace for Another Papal Conclave as Pope Francis Does Not Rule Out Retirement Over Belief He Has 2-3 More Years to Live


View Full Image
REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Pope Francis waves as he leads his Sunday Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican July 13, 2014. Pope Francis on Sunday called for a stop in the flare-up of hostility between Palestinians and Israelis, urging leaders to listen to the call of the people who want peace.
The former cardinal of Buenos Aires told media on the plane back to the Vatican from South Korea that he is not discounting the possibility that he could retire out of the belief that maybe he has two to three more years of his life. Pope Francis is 77 years old.
Besides giving rise to the possibility that there would be three living popes - Pope Benedict, Pope Francis and his successor - the scenario that the pontiff created could present a problem for the Vatican's next pope because of the rock star status of Pope Francis. It appears to be the same challenge that the former German Cardinal Josef Ratzinger faced when he took over the red shoes of the immensely popular and charismatic Pope John Paul II.
"I see it as the generosity of the people of God. I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, not to become proud. Because I know it will last only a short time. Two or three years and then I'll be off to the Father's House," caobserver.com quoted Pope Francis.
He said he would consider retirement if he could no longer perform his duties adequately, which includes the grueling trips overseas like the one he just did during his 5-day trip to Seoul as well as medical issues.
It is not a secret that the pope had cancelled several appointments recently due to tiredness, which is not surprising for a man his age and with just one lung. Pope Francis also admitted he has some health issues such as some nerve problems.
By 2015, Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Philippines and is considering visiting the U.S., including a stop to Mexico, upon the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moon.
He celebrated his one year as pope in March 2014, marked by spearheading reforms in the Holy See. Should he feel the need to retire, Catholics should once more brace themselves for   another conclave, while waiting again for white smoke to emanate from the Vatican chimney and hear the much-anticipated line, "Habemus Papam!"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Genevieve is the richest celebrity in Nigeria

In a recent release by Vanguard, Genevieve Nnaji tops the list of the top 10 richest celebrities in Nigeria. According to the list, the actress is said to be worth over N220 million. In the selection process, endorsement deals were the major criteria and Genevieve has signed many deals with multi-national companies in recent times including Etisalat, Amstel Malta, Range Rover Envogue and MUD Cosmetics. Despite being missing from the Glo Ambassador list,  Genevieve  still knocks out big names like Iyanya in 2nd place at N151 by a whopping 69million in second place with N151 million, music group Psquare who came in third with N140million, Wizkid at number four with N101 million and D’banjwho occupied fifth place with N100million. 1. Genevieve Nnaji: N220 Million Genevieve Nnaji is representing or has represented brands like Lux, Cintrion Energy drink, Range Rover Evogue, Etisalat, Polo and Amstel Malta. The Etisalat deal alone e...
Post a Comment
Read more

EBOLA: Salt Water Kills Three In Bauchi State

At least three people have been reported to have died, while a pregnant woman also landed in hospital, as a result of excessive intake of salt for the prevention of Ebola Virus in Bauchi State.   According to Vanguard report, an old man in Misau local council and three other adults in Bigi , Gudum Sayawa, and Bayara village, suburbs in Bauchi, northern Nigeria, were the victims of the salt intake exercise An unnamed source was quoted to have said that one of the deceased, Mr. Paul Bigi, 74, drank more than two cups of salted water and also rub some on his body after bathing with the salt water as advised by his children. “Less than one hour after he took the salt water, Baba started deficating non-stop and he died in the morning around 7am,” the source said. Also in Gumdum Sayawa, it was gathered that one John Ayuba made use of one bag of salt in one drum of water for bathing and one bag of salt in another drum of water for drinking due to large number of peopl...
Post a Comment
Read more