At 84 years old, the head of the Roman Catholic Church is back at work after spending 10 days at a hospital in July when doctors removed part of his intestine.
The scheduled operation went smoothly, though it did revive questions about whether Francis would stay in his role as he grows older. Since the early 1800s, only one pope has hit age 86 while still in the chair.
The post-op papal joke about bishops wishing him ill marked a frank acknowledgment of the forces within the church who are at odds with him. "I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve this," he added. In answering questions about the challenges the church faces - and the divisions from within - one detractor Francis mentioned was"a large Catholic television that constantly gossips" about him.
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