Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, a long-time confidant and Secretary of the late Pope John Paul II, has said he believed that the seriously ill Pope Francis was unlikely to resign.
Dziwisz served the Polish Pope for several decades until his death.
According to the 85-year-old Dziwisz on Wednesday, “One does not come down from the cross of Christ. Never. This is what Saint John Paul II teaches us.”
Francis’ German predecessor, Benedict XVI, unexpectedly resigned in 2013 and then lived reclusively in the Vatican until his death at the end of 2022.
Dziwisz had sharply criticised the move at the time.
There is now speculation that ailing Pope Francis, 88, will step down due to his illness.
“owever John Paul II (1920-2005), Francis’s predecessor, did not take such a step even after the assassination attempt on him in 1981, nor in his final years, which were marked by serious illness.
Dziwisz noted that he was confident that Francis would follow suit.
According to him, he will lead the Church as long as God wills, remaining firmly connected to the cross without taking a step back.
”In his final years, John Paul II was treated several times at the Gemelli Hospital, where Francis has been undergoing treatment for double pneumonia since February 14.
”The Polish pope was heavily marked by his illnesses and advanced age, but he served to the end from the bedroom of his apartment in the Apostolic Palace.
”Pope Francis is doing the same from Gemelli,” he stated. (dpa/NAN)
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