Rome (dpa -Afx) – Pope Francis has been in the hospital for a week because of pneumonia – again speculation about resignation. However, the influential Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re rejects such rumors: “The Pope recovers well, we shouldn’t invent things. There can be no question of resignation. In a few days he will be back in the Vatican,” said the Italian of the newspaper ” La Repubblica “.
The 91 -year -old RE is dean, i.e. protocol ladder, the Cardinal College. The most important task of the cardinal decree is to convene the cardinals entitled to vote for the conclave, i.e. for the Pope election, after the death or waiver of the Pope’s death during the so-called Sedis vacancy. He also organizes and leads the general congregations in front of the conclave, in which the cardinals from all over the world should get to know each other.
Speculations about the Pope resignation flared up
Previously, speculation over a possible resignation of the Pope for health reasons had been disgusted. Several cardinals said they considered such a step of Pope Francis to be possible. Francis’ German predecessor Benedict XVI. Har surprisingly resigned in 2013 and then lived in the Vatican until death.
Born in Argentine, such rumors had always rejected such rumors. These already occurred during previous clinic stays due to operations and earlier pneumonia. Francis emphasized that the thought of resigning had never come. However, he claimed to put a signed cancellation letter – but only in the event that he would be incapable of acting due to illness.
Banging believers about Francis
The 88 -year -old Francis has been treated in an inpatient hospital in Rome since Friday last week. The concern among believers is great. It is uncertain how long he still has to stay in the clinic. In conversation with “La Repubblica”, Re also rejected rumors about secret meetings of cardinals. “The dean has not held a cardinal meeting,” he said./rme/dp/ngu