Pope Francis signed resignation letter in 2013 in case of bad health

Pope Francis has revealed that after he was elected in 2013 he signed a letter of resignation to be used if some day severe and permanent health problems made it impossible to carry out his duties.

The pope, who turned 86 on Saturday and appears to be in good health except for a knee ailment, made the comment in an interview published on Sunday with the Spanish newspaper ABC.

Francis said he gave the letter to then Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was a holdover from the previous papacy of Benedict XVI. The cardinal remained in the position for about six months after Francis was elected on March 13th, 2013.

The pope has often said he would resign if health impaired him from running the 1.3 billion-member Catholic Church.

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Francis was asked if he believed an official norm should be established for cases when health problems or an accident impeded a pope.

“I have already signed my resignation. Tarcisio Bertone was Secretary of State. I signed it and I told him: ‘In case of impediment for medical reasons or whatever, here is my resignation’,” Francis was quoted as saying.

“You have it. I don’t know to whom Cardinal Bertone may have given it, but I gave it to him when he was Secretary of State,” the pope said, adding he was revealing it for the first time in public.

In the ABC interview, Francis said he believed Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) and Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) had signed similar resignation letters. Both pontiffs, however, died while in office.

In an interview with Reuters in July, Francis dismissed speculative reports his resignation was imminent and repeated his often stated position that he might resign someday if failing health made it impossible for him to run the church – something that had been almost unthinkable before Benedict XVI, now 95, resigned in 2013. It was the first papal resignation in six centuries.

Since July, Francis has made three international trips – to Canada, Kazakhstan and Bahrain – and plans to visit Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan from January 31st to February 5th.

He was to have made that trip last July, but his knee problem forced its postponement. He now uses a cane for short walks and a wheelchair for longer indoor distances. – Reuters