JAKARTA - Pope Francis has refuted reports he plans to step down soon, saying he is planning to visit Canada this month and hopes to travel to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters at his Vatican residence, Pope Francis also denied rumors he had cancer, joking his doctors "didn't tell you anything about it", and for the first time provided details about a knee condition that prevented him from doing some activities.
In a 90-minute conversation on Saturday afternoon, conducted in Italian, without aides present, the 85-year-old pontiff also repeated his condemnation of abortion following a US Supreme Court ruling last month.
Rumors had circulated in the media that a series of events in late August, including a meeting with world cardinals to discuss the new Vatican constitution, a ceremony to install a new cardinal, and a visit to the Italian city of L'Aquila, could herald an announcement of resignation.
L'Aquila is associated with Pope Celestine V, who resigned from the papacy in 1294. Pope Benedict XVI visited the city four years before he stepped down in 2013, the first pope to do so in about 600 years.
But Pope Francis, who remained careful and calm during interviews as he discussed various international and Church issues, laughed off the idea.
"All these coincidences led some to think that a similar 'liturgy' would happen. But it never crossed my mind. For now no, for now, no. Really!" the Pope said, citing Reuters on July 4.
The Pope repeated his often-stated position, possibly stepping down one day if ill health made it impossible to run the Church, something that was almost unthinkable before Pope Benedict XVI.
Asked when he thought it was possible, he said: "We don't know. God will answer."
The interview took place on the day he was due to leave for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, trips he had to cancel because doctors said he might also have to miss a trip to Canada from July 24-30, unless he agreed to do another 20 days of therapy and rest for the knee. his right.
He said the decision to cancel his trip to Africa had caused him "a great deal of pain", especially as he wanted to promote peace in both countries.
Pope Francis uses a cane as he walks into the reception room on the ground floor of the Santa Marta guesthouse where he has lived since his election in 2013, avoiding the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors.
The room has a copy of one of Pope Francis' favorite paintings, "Mary, Untier of Knots", made circa 1700 by Joachim Schmidtner of Germany.
He gave details of his illness for the first time publicly, saying he suffered a "small fracture" in the knee when he made a misstep when the ligaments became inflamed.
"I'm fine, I'm slowly getting better", he said adding that the fracture was improving, helped by laser and magnetic therapy.
The Pope also dismissed rumors that cancer had been discovered a year ago when he underwent a six-hour operation to remove part of his colon for diverticulitis, a condition common in the elderly.
"It was a huge success", he said, adding with a laugh that "they didn't tell me anything" about the suspected cancer, which he dismissed as 'gossip'.
But he said he didn't want surgery on his knee, because general anesthesia at last year's surgery had negative side effects.
Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, the Pope noted that there have been contacts between Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about a possible trip to Moscow.
The initial signs were not good. No pope has ever visited Moscow, and Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine; Last Thursday he implicitly accused him of waging a "cruel and senseless war of aggression".
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When the Vatican first asked about the trip months ago, Pope Francis revealed, that Moscow replied that it was not the right time. However, he hints that something may now have changed.
"I want to go (to Ukraine), and I want to go to Moscow first. We exchanged messages about this, because I think if the Russian president gives me a small window to serve the cause of peace", he said.
"And now maybe, after I came back from Canada, I managed to go to Ukraine. The first thing was to go to Russia to try to help in some way, but I want to go to both capitals."
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