Pope Francis predicts his tenure will be 'brief'
Hearing confessions to mark his second anniversary as head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis offered a confession of his own Friday: He doubts he'll be pontiff for long.
"I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief, four or five years; I do not know, even two or three," the 78-year-old Francis said during an interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa.
"Two have already passed. It's a somewhat vague sensation," he said, according to a Vatican translation from Spanish. "I feel that the Lord has placed me here for a short time, and nothing more."
He compared the feeling to "a gambler who convinces himself he will lose so he won't be disappointed. And if he wins, he's happy."
Does he like being pope?
"I do not mind!" he replied. But Francis said he'd like the job better if he had a little more freedom and anonymity, particularly for one purpose.
"The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza," he told the interviewer.
Francis had previously said he thought his reign would be only two to three years. He pointed to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in 2013.
"I share the idea of what Benedict did," he said. "In general, I think what Benedict so courageously did was to open the door to the popes emeritus. Benedict should not be considered an exception, but an institution."
He does not, however, think there should be an age — 80, for instance — at which popes should be forced to retire.
The Argentine-born Francis remains enormously popular worldwide. A recent poll showed that 90% of American Catholics approve of him, as well as 70% of all Americans, regardless of their religion or beliefs.
Two years in, Francis sets tone for change in church
"He's changed my faith," Rossella Devivo, who described herself as a lapsed Catholic, told CBS News. "I had absolutely no intention of entering a church, but since he's been pope, I have grown more religious. This is absolutely incredible for me. He has brought me closer to the church."
At Mass Friday, Francis announced a special Jubilee Year, only the 27th such declaration in church history. Starting Dec. 8, the church will focus on forgiveness and mercy.
St. John Paul II declared the last Holy Year in 2000 to mark the start of the third millennium.
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