Pope Francis said he would not live in the Vatican nor return to his native Argentina if and when he ever retires, but would instead like to find a church in Rome where he could continue hearing confessions.
“I’m the bishop of Rome, in this case, the emeritus bishop of Rome,” Francis said in an interview segment with Spanish-language broadcaster TelevisaUnivision that aired on Tuesday.
Francis, 85, denied he was planning to retire any time soon but repeated that “the door is open” after Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 became the first pope in 600 years to step down.
While having a retired pope on hand has gone well, the Vatican needs to better regulate the figure of an emeritus pope, Francis said in the interview.
Some cardinals and canon lawyers have long questioned Benedict’s decisions in retirement, including his continuing to wear the white cassock of the papacy and keeping his papal name, Benedict, rather than reverting to his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger.
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