Pope Francis approved a three-year reform plan in the Catholic Church
Kyiv • UNN
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has approved a three-year reform process, including issues of women's ministry and LGBTQ. This confirms his intentions to remain Pope, despite health problems.
Pope Francis has approved a new three-year review process for the global Catholic Church. The Vatican announced this on Saturday, in a sign that the 88-year-old pontiff plans to continue as pope despite his ongoing battle with bilateral pneumonia, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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According to the publication, Francis has extended the work of the Synod of Bishops, a landmark initiative of his 12-year papacy, which discussed reforms such as the possibility of women serving as Catholic deacons and more effective inclusion of LGBTQ community representatives in the Church.
The Synod, which held a non-binding Vatican summit of bishops on the future of the Church last October, will now consult with Catholics around the world for the next three years before holding a new summit in 2028.
Francis approved the new reform process on Tuesday from a Roman hospital where he is being treated, the Vatican said on Saturday.
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The Pope has been in hospital for more than a month, and his prolonged absence from public life has fueled speculation that he may follow the example of his predecessor Benedict XVI and step down from the papal throne.
However, his friends and biographers insist that he has no plans to retire. The approval of the new three-year process showed that he wants to continue, despite his age and the possibility that he may have to go through a long and difficult recovery from pneumonia, given his age and other medical conditions.
"The Holy Father... is helping to push the renewal of the Church towards a new missionary impulse," Cardinal Mario Grech, an official representative of the reform process, told the Vatican media. "This is truly a sign of hope."