Francis.
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- Pope Francis said She underwent surgery in July after pouch inflammation appeared on the inner wall of the intestine.
- Francis was interviewed for the first time after the operation on Spanish radio station Cope.
- The Pope will visit Greece, Cyprus and Malta.
Pope Francis refuted media reports that he might resign after undergoing surgery earlier this year, and said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, “I didn’t even think about it.”
As if to prove his energy and commitment to work, the 84-year-old announced further overseas trips to Greece, Cyprus and Malta, and confirmed that he hopes to attend the COP26 climate conference in November.
“I don’t know where they learned that I am resigning last week!” He told Spanish radio Cope in an extensive interview, and he referred to media reports.
He said, “I didn’t even think about it” to follow the path of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to resign in 600 years in 2013.
“Whenever the pope gets sick, there will always be a breeze or hurricane-like secret meeting,” he added, referring to the convening of the cardinal council to elect a new pope.
Francis underwent surgery on July 4 after suffering from diverticulitis, which is an inflammation of the pockets that forms in the inner wall of the intestine.
Watch | Pope Francis returns to Vatican after surgery
When asked how he felt, the pope said with a smile: “I’m still alive.”
The Pope said:
Now I can eat anything, which was impossible in the previous diverticulum.
“I still have postoperative medication because the brain has to record that its intestines are 33 cm missing… But other than that, I’m still living a normal life.”
-‘No script’-
The Pope will visit Hungary and Slovakia from September 12 to 15. The official plan includes a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.
When asked what he wanted to say to Orban, Orban’s anti-immigration views were contrary to his views, and Francis seemed to avoid the question.
“I don’t know if I will meet him. I know the authorities will come to meet me,” he said.
He added: “One of my methods is not to scribble the script everywhere: When I am in front of a person, I look in his eyes and let things come out.”
He did not disclose the dates of his planned visits to Greece, Cyprus and Malta, but said he is preparing for the climate negotiations in Glasgow.
“It all depends on how I felt at the time. But in fact, my speech is ready and the plan is there,” said Francis, who has always spoken bluntly about the need to deal with global warming.
COP26 is the largest climate summit since the Paris negotiations in 2015, and the Pope called it “the pinnacle (peak) of global consciousness.”
“What happened then? The fear began,” he said.
“Slowly, in the subsequent meeting, they regressed. I hope Glasgow can now look up a bit and make us more aligned.”
-China is not easy-
In an interview with Popular Science Radio, the Pope also defended a controversial agreement reached between the Vatican and China, which allowed both parties to have a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops.
“China is not easy, but I firmly believe that we should not give up dialogue,” he said.
Read also | “Vaccination is an act of love”-Pope Francis urges people to be vaccinated against Covid-19
For decades, approximately 12 million Catholics in China have been divided into a government-run association elected by the Communist Party of the atheists and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.
The 2018 agreement, which was renewed last year, drew strong criticism in the United States, which said it failed to protect Chinese Catholics from persecution.
“You can be deceived in dialogue, you can make mistakes, all of this… but it is the way. A closed mind is never the way,” the Pope said.
“So far, the achievements in China have been at least dialogue…some specific things, such as the appointment of a new bishop, slowly…but these are also doubtful steps.”
He mentioned the efforts made by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the highest diplomat of the Vatican under Pope Paul VI and John Paul II, to build bridges with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.
The Pope said: “Slowly, slowly, slowly, he realized the diplomatic relations reserve, which ultimately means appointing a new bishop and taking care of the faithful people of God.”
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