Pope gives major sign he plans to stay on amid pneumonia battle

Pope Francis has initiated a new three-year reform process for the Catholic Church, signalling his intention to continue his papacy despite recent health concerns.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that the 88-year-old pontiff, currently hospitalised with double pneumonia, had approved the extension of the Synod of Bishops.

The initiative, a hallmark of his 12-year tenure, will engage in global consultations with Catholics over the next three years, culminating in a summit in 2028.

This synod has already tackled potentially significant reforms, including the role of women as deacons and greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within the Church.

An initial summit held in October 2024 at the Vatican yielded inconclusive results, prompting the extended process.

The timing of the announcement is noteworthy, given Francis's recent hospitalisation and prolonged public absence.

Speculation has arisen regarding a potential resignation, mirroring the path of his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

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However, close associates and biographers have maintained that he has no intention of stepping down.

The commitment to a three-year reform process reinforces this stance, suggesting his determination to continue leading the Church, even as he faces a potentially challenging recovery.

The Vatican said that Francis approved the new process on Tuesday from his hospital bed in Rome's Gemelli hospital.

"The Holy Father ... is helping push the renewal of the Church toward a new missionary impulse," Cardinal Mario Grech, the official leading the reform process, told the Vatican's media outlet.

"This is truly a sign of hope."

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, is widely seen as trying to open up the staid global Church to the modern world.

However, the pope's reform agenda has upset some Catholics, including a few senior cardinals. They have accused him of watering down the Church's teachings on issues such as same-sex marriage, and divorce and remarriage.

Massimo Faggioli, a US academic who has followed the papacy closely, said the new reform process is a way for the pope to signal that he is still the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

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"Francis' pontificate is not over, and this decision he just made for what happens between now and 2028 will have an effect on the rest of (it)," said Mr Faggioli, a professor at Villanova University.

After last October's inconclusive Vatican summit, which yielded no concrete action on possible reforms, Francis had faced questions of whether his papacy was running out of steam.

Vatican officials had said at the time that Francis was still considering future changes, and was waiting to receive a series of 10 expected reports about possible reforms this June.

The latest medical bulletins from the Vatican on the pope's condition in hospital have said he is improving and is no longer in immediate danger of death.

They have not said when he will be discharged from hospital.

Well-wishers have been gathering to offer support for Francis outside the hospital each day during the pope's recovery.

Stefania Gianni, an Italian being treated for cancer at the facility, said on Saturday that Francis "has taken great steps to bring the Church up to date with the times".

"He is a great man and a great pope, and the Church still needs him," she said.