Cardinal Tucho Fernández: Pope Francis does not think about the resignation but must learn to talk again

Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández revealed that Pope Francis does not consider “renunciation, but needs” learning to speak again “and recover the strength of his voice before returning to the Vatican.

The purple, prefect of the Dicastery for the doctrine of faith, shared details about the health status of the Pontiff and its recovery process after five weeks of hospitalization.

Specifying that he speaks “of true reality, not of false news” about the Holy Father, Cardinal Fernández said he was “happy” because Francisco improves – as the Vatican reported today – and stressed that he had the form of being in contact with him.

The purple made these statements to journalists, this Friday, March 21, within the framework of the presentation of a book by the Jesuit priest Antonio Spadaro, about Pope Francis and poetry.

“Now a rehabilitation is needed because a lot of time with the oxygenation of high flows dries everything and you almost have to learn to speak again,” said the Argentine cardinal in reference to this aspect of the treatment received by the pontiff.

On the latter, the prefect of Dicastery for the doctrine of faith commented that he referred to the fact that Pope Francis “has little strength in the voice as we knew from the message of the other day and now needs some therapy, a time of recovery of the power of his voice and also of his muscles because he has been too quiet.”

Indeed, the Vatican shared an audio on March 6 in which the Pontiff thanked everyone for his prayers, in which he evidenced the difficulty of speaking.

How is Pope Francis emotionally?

“Imagine for a person like him, who really did not want to go to the hospital,” the cardinal shared, telling that they were friends “very close, which are not precisely prefects or priests,” who convinced the Pope to go to the Gemelli, where he is hospitalized since February 14.

“Imagine how heavy it is for him, but he belongs to these Jesuits before as Spadaro, those of other times, who have an immense force, an ability to sacrifice, to find meaning to these dark moments,” he added.

These five weeks of hospitalization of Pope Francis, the purple continued, “it has certainly been a very hard time (…) for him, who loves donating entirely, feeling in the bed of a hospital without being able to help others, give a word of comfort to other people.”

A new stage of Pontificate of Pope Francis

“He has a great capacity to learn from life, from everything that is presented to him, to get something beautiful from the darkest moments. That is why I am sure that this experience will be very good,” he continued. “We don’t know what it will be, but let’s say, the surprises of Pope Francis.”

After highlighting that doctors have asked Pope Francis “to look for another life and work system” to take care of his health, Cardinal Fernández stressed that now there is “a new stage that will certainly be fruitful, which will be part of his pontificate.” “That was really what I expected, that this is not the end, but that it is this new stage in which the Pope will undoubtedly giving us many things,” he added.

Will Pope Francis return for Easter to the Vatican?

“I think not yet, but I can’t say anything sure,” said Cardinal Argentino.

To conclude, Cardinal “Tucho” Fernández explained that the Pope “would want to return (to the Vatican) but doctors want to be one hundred percent safe and prefer to wait a little, what you can, because he has his way of living, he wants to give everything and the little time that remains, he says ‘I want to use it not to heal myself.’

He collaborated with this note Victoria Cardiel, correspondent of ACI Press in Rome.