Pope discusses resignation – “a distant hypothesis”

On Mar 16, 2024

Pope Francis (C), seated on a wheelchair, waves to attendees as he arrives for a meeting with Bishops at the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on February 3, 2023. Pope Francis is due to wind up his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrive in South Sudan on February 3, 2023 on a three-day visit to promote peace and reconciliation in a country still bearing the scars of civil war. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Pope Francis has said that if he chooses to resign he would be known as Bishop Emeritus of Rome and would live in the Basilica of St. Mary Major “to return to being a confessor and bring communion to the sick”.

His thoughts are recorded in his autobiography out on 19 March “Life. My Story in History”.

But he said such thoughts are a “distant hypothesis” because there are no serious reasons to consider this possibility, which he never considers, “despite moments of difficulty.”

There were no conditions for a resignation, he said, unless a serious physical impediment arose, in which case a letter of resignation deposited in the Secretariat of State signed by Bergoglio at the beginning of his pontificate would apply.