Pope Francis' Recent Surgery Seen as Turning Point in his Papacy 

ROME - The Vatican has stressed Pope Francis is recovering well from his recent colon surgery and a ten-day post-operative stay in hospital.  Later this year, he has trips to Hungary and Slovakia planned. Vatican officials also confirmed last week that the pope will attend in November the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Nonetheless, some Vatican observers say the 84-year-old’s surgery earlier this month, undertaken at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, may later be seen as a turning point in his papacy and it will likely add greater urgency to his reform plans, including efforts to overhaul the notoriously change-resistant Curia, the administrative institutions of the Holy See. Already in Rome, there is speculation about who might succeed Francis, with some Vatican watchers pointing out that Francis has hinted in the past he may follow his predecessor, Benedict XVI, and step aside, if his health seriously deteriorates, rather than follow tradition and die in office.   Benedict became in 2013 the first pope to relinquish office since 1415, possibly setting a modern-day precedent.