教皇称自己已“时日无多”考虑退休

Pope Francis has said he might have only two or three years left to live.

On a plane trip back from South Korea, he told journalists he believed he only had limited time left to complete his reforms of the Roman Catholic Church.

Asked about how he copes with his popularity, he said: ‘I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, so as not to think that I am some- body important.’

He then added with a smile: ‘Because I know this is going to last a short time, two or three years and then...to the house of the Father.’

According to a Vatican source, the 77-year-old has previously told those close to him that he thought he only had a few years left.

He also revealed that he would consider retiring if he felt he could no longer perform his duties.

His predecessor Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February last year.

‘If you asked me if, in the future, I felt I could not go forward, would I do the same? I would do the same. Benedict has opened a door,’ Francis said on board the papal plane.

He also admitted that his advisers have been encouraging him to rest more after he cancelled a series of engagements earlier in the year.

In June he cancelled a visit to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome due to a ‘sudden ailment’.

At the time he told Catholic television station TV2000: ‘We are not masters of our own lives, we cannot arrange things to suit us. We have to accept fragility.’

He also called off trips to a shrine in February and a seminary in May.

‘Those were very demanding days. And now I have to be a bit more sensible,’ he said, adding that he had been sleeping more over the past two months.

The Pope has kept up a whirlwind of activity since his election in March 2013. However he has some underlying health problems, including sciatica. He also had part of a lung removed in his youth.

Some observers claim the pontiff has gained weight and is having difficulty breathing, which could be signs of a heart condition.

He also received the sad news that three members of his family had died in a car crash in Argentina.

His two young great-nephews, aged two and eight months, and their 39-year-old mother Valeria Carmona, were killed in a road accident on Monday.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Pope’s nephew Emanuel Bergoglio, who was driving, was in a serious condition.

He added: ‘The Pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is deeply pained.’

The family’s car reportedly collided with a lorry in the Cordoba region, north-east of Buenos Aires.

据英国《每日邮报》报道，罗马教皇弗朗西斯一世称自己在世时间最多再活两到三年，考虑退休。

弗朗西斯一世在从韩国起飞的返程飞机上告诉记者，他认为自己时日不多，要完成罗马天主教会改革的时间很有限。

当被问到如何看待人民对他的爱戴时，他说道：“我试着去想我自己的罪过，我犯过的错误，而不去想我是一个重要的人。”

然后他微笑着说：“因为我知道自己时日不多，只剩下两到三年，然后……我最终会去朝见圣父。”

根据梵蒂冈的消息，77岁的教皇此前曾告诉他的亲人自己剩下的日子不多，并透露其可能会考虑退休。

上一任教皇本笃十六世（Pope Benedict XVI）于去年二月份辞职。

弗朗西斯一世登机时：“如果你问我，如果以后觉得自己力不从心、难以胜任教皇一职的时候会不会也这样做？我的回答是肯定的，因为本笃已经开了这样一个先例了。”

他也承认说，今年年初在他取消一系列活动之后，他的顾问们也一直督促他要多休息。

今年六月，由于一场“突发疾病”，弗朗西斯一世取消了前往罗马格梅利医院（Gemelli Hospital）的访问。

他当时告诉天主教电视台TV2000称：“我们不能主宰自己的生命，我们无法掌控一切，只能接受我们的脆弱。”

此外，他还取消了二月份前往圣地以及五月份前往神学院的访问旅程。

他说：“那些日子我感觉非常吃力。不过现在我必须要明智些。过去两个月里我睡觉的时间增多了。”

自从2013年的选举之后，弗朗西斯一一直积极参与各种活动，但是他自身存在一些潜在的健康问题，包括坐骨神经痛。此外，他年轻时还做过肺部的手术。

一些观察者称教皇的体重增加、呼吸困难，可能是心脏病的迹象。

此外，他还收到令人悲痛的消息。消息称他的三位亲人在阿根廷发生一场车祸丧生，包括他两个年幼的侄孙，分别是两岁和八个月大，还有他们39岁的母亲瓦莱里娅卡莫纳（Valeria Carmona）。

梵蒂冈发言人隆巴迪（Federico Lombardi）称当时开车的是教皇的侄子伊曼纽尔•贝戈格里奥（Emanuel Bergoglio），目前他身受重伤，情况危急。

他还说：“教皇已获悉这则噩耗，悲痛欲绝。”

报道称他们是在布伊诺斯艾利斯（Buenos Aires）东北部的科尔多瓦（Cordoba）地区和一辆卡车相撞发生意外。