Pope Francis considers first trip home as pontiff to ‘suffering’ Argentina

Pope Francis on Sunday said he hopes to make his first trip to his homeland of Argentina since becoming pontiff more than a decade ago, as the South American nation grapples with an economic crisis.

New Argentine President Javier Milei, who once called Francis “an envoy of Satan,” last week formally invited the pontiff to the country, which faces triple-digit hyperinflation and soaring poverty.“I worry because the people there are suffering a lot. It’s a difficult moment for the country,” the 87-year-old pope told talk show “Che Tempo Che Fa,” on Italian channel Nove.

In the hour-long interview broadcast on Nove, which is owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, Francis also addressed concerns about his health.

Francis, who has recently recovered from a bout of bronchitis and an abdominal operation, said he will remain in office for “as long as (he has) the ability to 

Stepping down is “not at the center of my thoughts,” he added, though he conceded that the possibility of resigning is “open to all popes.”

He also reiterated calls for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“This escalation of war frightens me, this taking of warlike steps in the world, one wonders how it will end, with atomic weapons now destroying everything, how will we end up, like Noah’s ark?” he said.

“That scares me, the capacity for self-destruction that humanity has today.”