He has recently suffered an injury to the ligaments in his right knee, which makes it difficult for him to walk. He told his close friends that he did not intend to undergo surgery, apparently after the previous time he underwent surgery he experienced a severe reaction to the anesthesia. He continues to move with the help of a wheelchair and one of his close friends said that the rumors about his resignation are “unfounded illusions”.
Rumors only intensified last week, when the pope promoted the appointment of 21 new cardinals to take office in August. 16 of those cardinals are under the age of 80, and are eligible to vote for the next pope. Once added to the Order of the Church Princes, they will join previous appointments of Francis, who manned 83 of the 132 standards of cardinals eligible to vote.
This, according to estimates, increases the chances that the successor will be appointed to support the positions and priorities of the incumbent pope. Both the timing of the visit to L’Aquila and the Cardinals’ meeting have been set for August, and this is causing speculation as it is a period of freedom for the Vatican and for Italy as a whole. The previous pope also visited L’Aquila in 2009, and four years later vacated the post.
Despite the rumor mill, the pope has not yet officially announced his intentions – and continues to fulfill his role: he is expected to fly soon to the Congo, South Sudan, Canada and Kazakhstan. In 2023 he is expected to chair a large meeting of bishops from around the world. At the same time it also continues to bring about change: a new document, which goes into effect today, allows women to head offices in the Vatican and imposes tenure restrictions for some positions. Francis was elected pope in 2013 and declared his intention to reform. Now that at least some of it has been implemented, he may decide to meet the target and vacate his chair.