Pope Francis has repeated his belief that his pontificate may be brief. In an interview marking the second anniversary of his election on March 13th, 2013, the pontiff enhanced the impression of being a man in a hurry, pushing himself hard despite his 78 years.
Those close to the pope have often suggested that this busy timetable is the result of his belief that he will have only a limited time on the seat of St Peter.
In this most recent interview with Mexican TV channel Televisa, he confirms this, saying: “I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief: four or five years. I do not know, even two or three. Two have already passed. It is a somewhat vague sensation. Maybe it’s like the psychology of the gambler who convinces himself he will lose so he won’t be disappointed and if he wins, is happy . . .”
Although he has effectively only one lung, the pope's overall health has not given rise to any particular concern. In an interview with Argentine daily La Nacion last December, Pope Francis said that, apart from the odd ache and pain, his health was good, pointing to his busy travel programme for this year, including trips to Africa, Latin America and the US.
American trip
Asked why a stop in
Mexico
was not programmed into his US visit in September, the pope said that Mexico would require a week-long trip.
Asked what it would mean for him, the son of Italian immigrants, to enter the US via the Mexican border, one which has such significance for modern-day migration, Francis said: “Today migration is the result of a malaise in the etymological sense of the word, the result of a hunger. The same happens in Africa, with the Mediterranean crossings, people who come from countries that are going through difficult times because of hunger, wars . . .”
With regard to migration over the Mexican border, the pope highlighted the problems caused by drug traffickers, calling them “messengers of death”, adding: “The 43 students [kidnapped in Iguala] somehow are asking, I would not say for revenge, but for justice and to be remembered.”
The pope also says that he considered making Alberto Suarez Inda, the archbishop of Morelia in central Mexico, a cardinal because he "is in the firing line . . ."
Asked about the success of evangelical Protestant movements or sects in Latin America, Francis said that Catholics were driven away by distant, over-clerical priests who preached bad sermons.
“Typically evangelicals are close to the people, they aim for the heart and prepare their homilies really well . . . The Protestant concept of the homily is much stronger than the Catholic. It’s almost a sacrament.”
When asked what he did not like about being pope, Francis came up with a very practical answer: “The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognised, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza.”