Pope Francis says he will slow down or retire

Pope Francis. Pic/AFP

Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his week-long Canadian pilgrimage was "a bit of a test" that showed he needs to slow down and one day, possibly retire.

Speaking to reporters while travelling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn't thought about resigning but said "the door is open" and there was nothing wrong with a pope stepping down. "It's not strange. It's not a catastrophe. You can change the pope," he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference. Francis said that while he hadn't considered resigning until now, he realises he has to at least slow down.

"I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save [my energy]to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside," he said. Francis was faced with questions around the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his programme and ability to mingle with crowds.

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Canadian schools were "cultural genocide": Pope

Pope Francis agreed Saturday that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system amounted to a "cultural genocide." Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined this in 2015. Some 1,50,000 children from the late 1800s to the 1970s were subject to the forced assimilation policy, aimed at making them fully Christian and Canadian. Physical and sexual abuse were rampant at the schools, and children were beaten for speaking their Native languages.

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