During a visit to Slovakia, Pope Francis is known to have strongly criticized conservatives and traditionalists in the church for unjustly attacking the Catholic Church during a meeting with priests of the Jesuits, his 'religious hometown'.



The Catholic magazine 'La Civilta Cattolica' published by the Jesuits published the conversation between the Pope and 53 Jesuit priests, who attended in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, on the 12th (local time).



According to this, the Pope has expressed his uneasy feelings toward traditional and conservative members of the church who are targeting him and the Catholic Church as 'gossip' or attacking them for no good reason.



"As a sinner myself, I personally can be subjected to such attacks and insults," the Pope said.



He continued, "There are priests who say bad things about me. When I make judgments without having a real conversation, I lose my patience, especially. In that case, there is nothing I can do about it."



“I have no intention of entering the world of their ideas and fantasies in the future,” the Pope said. “This is why I prefer preaching.”



The Pope also revealed that there was a movement to prepare for the actual conclave while he was hospitalized after undergoing bowel resection.



When asked by a priest about his health, the pope replied, "I'm still alive" and "some would have wanted me to die."



"I know there was a meeting of high-ranking clergy (bishops or cardinals) who judged their health (after surgery) to be more serious than known. They were preparing a conclave," he said. "But by the grace of the Lord, I'm fine." added.



The Pope underwent surgery for colon stenosis, a chronic disease, at a general hospital in Rome, Italy on July 4, and was hospitalized for ten days.



After being discharged from the hospital, he had a smooth recovery process, but at public events such as Wednesday general audiences and Sunday prayers, his emaciated face was revealed due to a somewhat weakened voice, and theories of health abnormalities were raised.



At that time, there were reports in the Italian media that pointed to the possibility of a 'conclave' following the voluntary resignation of the Pope.



However, in an interview with the Spanish radio channel 'COPE', which aired on the 1st of this month, the Pope stated that he had not considered voluntary resignation at all.



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