Pope Francis: Enemies within Catholic Church wanted me dead during my operation

In a veiled barb against his enemies within the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has joked that “some people wanted me to die” when he underwent colon surgery during the summer.

Hostile prelates were gleefully plotting the next conclave, the gathering of cardinals held in the Sistine Chapel that elects a new pontiff, he suggested in an interview laced with dark humour and frustration.

Critics were carrying out “the work of the devil,” he said, in a strident rebuke to the opposition he has encountered not just in Rome but among traditionalist Catholics around the world.

In the interview with a group of Jesuit priests during his recent trip to Slovakia, the Pope was asked how he felt as he recovers from the operation in July.

“Still alive, even though some people wanted me to die. I know there were even meetings between prelates who thought the Pope’s condition was more serious than the official version. They were preparing for the conclave.”

It was one of the strongest references he has made to the many detractors he has within the Catholic Church and beyond, some of whom have branded him a communist, a heretic, even an anti-Pope.

Conservatives and reactionaries have been incensed by his support for refugees and migrants, his trenchant criticism of the negative effects of global capitalism, his sympathetic tone towards gay Catholics and his backing for remarried divorcees to be allowed to take Communion.

To his enemies, he had a one word message: “Patience!”

He said that thanks to the skill of doctors and nurses, he was now “all right” after the serious surgery he underwent.

He said that among his critics was “a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the Pope.”

He did not name the station but it was widely thought to be a reference to the EWTN media conglomerate, which is highly critical of his papacy.

“I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve them. They are the work of the devil.”

He spoke frankly of his critics throughout the interview, which was published in a respected Jesuit magazine, La Civilta Cattolica.

“There are also clerics who make nasty comments about me. Some people…say I always talk about social issues and that I’m a communist.

“I sometimes lose patience, especially when they make judgments without entering into a real dialogue.”

His reaction was to get on with his job as leader of the world’s more than billion Catholics.

“I just go forward without entering into their world of ideas and fantasies,” he said.

Francis, 84, made the remarks during a meeting with fellow Jesuits in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, earlier this month.

He was on a four-day apostolic visit to Slovakia and Hungary – his first international trip since undergoing the surgery.

The Pope also made reference last month to his internal enemies and rumours swirling around the Vatican that a conclave could be imminent.

He said the colon operation, after which he had to recover in hospital for 10 days, had fueled speculation that he might resign, as did his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Benedict was the first pope to step down from the Seat of St Peter in 600 years – Gregory XII resigned in 1415 in the midst of a church leadership crisis known as the Great Western Schism.

“Whenever a pope is sick, there’s a breeze or hurricane of conclave,” he said in an interview with Spanish radio.

The operation he underwent was to address a condition known as diverticular stenosis, or narrowing of the colon, a common problem in people over the age of 80.