Pope Francis dismissed rumors that he plans to resign anytime soon and said he hopes to visit Kyiv and Moscow in the near future.
In an interview with Reuters published on July 4, Francis also told Reuters that it “never entered my mind” to announce a planned retirement at the end of the summer, although he reiterated that he could step down some day in the way that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI did in 2013.
The pontiff had planned to visit Congo and South Sudan this week but had to cancel the trip because doctors said he needed more therapy on an injured knee.
He said he was still scheduled to travel to Canada on July 24-30 and said he hoped to visit Russia and Ukraine sometime thereafter.
Following the remarks, Ukraine renewed its invitation for Francis to visit Ukraine and urged the pontiff to continue praying for the Ukrainian people.
"It is time to deepen connections with those who sincerely desire it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said.
“We renew the invitation to Pope Francis to visit our country and urge you to continue praying for the Ukrainian people.”