Pope Francis

Pope Francis has said that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his weeklong Canadian pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that showed he needed to slow down and one day possibly retire.

Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, Francis, 85, stressed that he had not thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with a pope stepping down.

“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said.

The Vatican authorized secret wiretaps on an Italian financial broker based in London who has been charged with defrauding the Holy See of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to leaked documents.

Pope Francis granted investigators the power to bug phones, intercept emails and arrest anyone without approval from British judges, The Times of London reported.

Pope Francis has fuelled speculation that he could resign after postponing a trip to Africa and announcing an unusual meeting of cardinals.

Hobbled by pain in his knee and forced to use a wheelchair in recent weeks, the 85-year-old pontiff postponed a July trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan last week.

He also announced an unusual decision to hold a consistory to name new cardinals during a Vatican vacation month and arranged meetings to ensure his reforms stay intact.

The cruel pontiff is lining up a successor

For well over a year, a nasty rumour has been floating through the Vatican that Pope Francis is terminally ill with cancer. I was told it was true by an Italian prelate in an apartment just a stone’s throw from the hostel where the 85-year-old pontiff is now pushed around in a wheelchair. A diplomatic source discussed it ruefully over an espresso in the Borgo Pio. A well-connected American traditionalist Catholic texted that it was “definitely true!” — the exclamation mark suggesting that he wasn’t too distressed.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013.

Italian and Catholic media have been rife with unsourced speculation that the 85-year-old Francis might be planning to follow in Benedict’s footsteps, given his increased mobility problems that have forced him to use a wheelchair for the last month.

Those rumors gained steam last week when Francis announced a consistory to create 21 new cardinals scheduled for Aug. 27. Sixteen of those cardinals are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect Francis’ successor.

Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now the pope’s advisor on immigration? “It is true,” said Pope Francis Friday, “refugees are subdivided. There’s first class, second class, skin colour, [if] they come from a developed country [or] one that is not developed. We are racists, we are racists. And this is bad.” The claim that Western countries are racist in their approach to immigration is not original to the pontiff: AOC said it back in early March. But the key question, both then and now, is largely overlooked yet quite simple: is it true?

Pope Francis, a leading advocate of Doormat Christianity, is at it again. Although it is traditional for papal podiums to depict the crucifix, during his recent visit to the island of Malta, Pope Francis ditched the cross lest it offend Muslim migrants. As the archdiocese of Malta openly admitted, “The podium will not be adorned with a crucifix, given that the majority of migrants are Muslim.”