From the Washington Times:
Rumors swirled in Rome on Monday that an ailing Pope Francis, age 85, is considering stepping down, a move that would make him the second consecutive leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics to leave office while still alive. The Argentine-born pontiff has been forced to cancel long-planned trips and some say his agenda for the coming years offers signs he is contemplating following Benedict’s example.
Yet while both the religious and popular press were studying the papal smokestack above St. Peter’s Square for clues, two leading pundits were quick to quash speculation that Francis was going anywhere.