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In his own words, Pope Francis has already signed his resignation in case he can no longer exercise his office. “I have already signed my waiver,” the 86-year-old said in an interview with Spanish newspaper “ABC” (Sunday). He did so when Tarcisio Bertone was Cardinal Secretary of State, pointing out that the statement was in case he was unable to attend for medical reasons, the head of the Catholic Church said.

Bertone held the second highest office in the ecclesiastical state until October 15, 2013. Jorge Mario Bergoglio previously became Pope Francis on March 13 of the same year. Bertone was considered a close confidant of Pope Benedict XVI, who is now emeritus and resigned as pope in late February 2013. “He’s a great man,” Francis said of Benedict in an interview with “ABC.” He still sees him often. Born in Bavaria, he has a “good sense of humour, is clear, very lively, speaks calmly, but follows the conversation”.

Rumors of Francis’ resignation continue to surface. “The door is open. That is a very normal option,” said the Argentinian at the end of July on the return flight from his trip to Canada. Before that, he had stated in an interview that if he resigned in Rome, he would not be in the Vatican. want to stay and that in this case he would be “Emeritus Bishop of Rome”, which would be a different status from that of the Pope Emeritus, who has Benedict XVI.(sda/dpa)