"When the first dose arrived in the Vatican, I booked in immediately and then also did the booster shots and, thank God, I was never infected."
Pope Francis tells it in his autobiography 'Life.
My story in History', of which today the Corriere della Sera is publishing several excerpts as a world premiere.
In the book José Bergoglio notes that, when he was hospitalized, "someone was more interested in politics, in campaigning, almost thinking of a new conclave. Don't worry, it's human, there's no need to be scandalized! When the Pope is in the hospital, many thoughts are spent, and there are also those who speculate for their own gain or for profit in the newspapers".
However, he never thought about resigning.
"I think that the Petrine ministry is ad vitam and therefore I do not see any conditions for a renunciation - Francis writes - Things would change if a serious physical impediment were to arise, and in that case I have already signed the letter with the renunciation which is deposited in the Secretariat of State. If this were to happen, I would not call myself Pope Emeritus, but simply Bishop Emeritus of Rome, and I would move to Santa Maria Maggiore to return to being a confessor and bringing communion to the sick."
The Pontiff talks about his Italian origins ("Piedmontese was my first mother tongue") and his youth in parallel with the great events of history.
Starting from the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki: "The use of atomic energy for war purposes is a crime against man, against his dignity and against any possibility of a future in our common home", attacks Bergoglio.
The Pontiff also says that as a Jesuit he would have liked to be a missionary in Japan, but that he was not allowed to due to his health conditions: "If they had sent me to that mission land, my life would have taken a different path; and perhaps someone in the Vatican would have been better than now."
Francis also retraces his youthful loves, the coup in Argentina ("it was a generational genocide" and the accusations against him were "the revenge of some sinister"), his exile in Cordoba as punishment, his relationship with Ratzinger and the days of conclave of 2013. The Pope defines abortionists as "hired killers", while opening up "legal coverage" for homosexual couples who "live the gift of love".
And he talks about the vow he made in 1990 not to watch TV anymore.
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