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Pope Francis[/B] has fuelled speculation that he may intend to resign after postponing a trip and calling an unusual meeting, writes Daily Mail. Exhausted by knee pain in recent times, the Pontiff has been forced to appear seated in a wheelchair and last week postponed a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan scheduled for July.
At the same time, as the paper reports, the Pope announced an unusual decision to hold a church council in August, through which new cardinals will be named. All this at a time when August is a month of vacation for the Vatican. In fact, the prelate of the Roman Catholic Church has arranged meetings to ensure that his reforms remain intact.
The extraordinary church council is to be held on August 27 at the headquarters of the Catholic Church. Through this process, 21 new cardinals will emerge. 16 of them will be under the age of 80 and therefore capable of electing Pope Francis' successor in a future conclave.
Since taking office in 2013, he has nominated 83 cardinals in an attempt to shape the future of the Catholic Church, in part to counter the historically dominant influence of Europe and make it reflect his own values. Indeed, in statements in 2014, just a year after his election as Benedict's successor, Francis himself told reporters that if his health prevented his duties as pope, he would also consider resigning. "He (Benedict) opened a door, for resigned popes," he said at the time."
On August 28, the Pontiff will pay a visit to L'Aquila where the tomb of Celestine V - the first pope to resign from the papacy in the 13th century (he had been in office for five months) - is located. He will then join the cardinals of the world - many of whom are meeting their peers for the first time - in a weekend of meetings and discussions on the reform of the Roman Curia, which Francis announced in March with the unveiling of a new constitution.
Francis' reform of the Roman Curia attempts to take the Church back to its pastoral roots, allowing lay Catholic fathers to run parts of the Vatican and creating a department specifically for charitable works, among other reforms.
The pope's moves have generated much speculation about his future plans, among which his resignation appears to be among them. However, people familiar with what goes on behind closed doors at the Vatican do not believe that Francis is yet on the verge of handing over the "papal keys." One source told Agence France-Presse that "in the Pope's entourage, the majority do not really believe in the possibility of resignation."
Source: protothema.gr / dailymail
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