Pope Francis has said he has no intention of resigning because he believes the Petrine office is for life.
“I believe the Pope’s ministry is ‘ad vitam’ (for life),” the Pontiff told a group of African Jesuit priests. “I see no reason why it should not be so.”
He suggested that the 2012 resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, which precipitated his own election, should not become a trend because it jarred with tradition.
Francis said that although he had prepared a resignation letter for extreme circumstances he did not envisage using it.
