Pope Francis said previously that he might retire if facing extreme health issues. The Vatican reported that his condition is complicated but not critical.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.

The election of a new pope is a complex process involving hundreds of cardinals that can stretch up to weeks on end. But the general public seems to have found its own way to show support for their pontiffs of choice.

Pope Francis's condition is not currently critical, a Vatican source said Friday, after a series of clinical improvements for the 88-year-old pontiff suffering from pneumonia in both lungs. The Argentine pope has spent the past two weeks at Rome's Gemelli hospital,

Before he was hospitalized for double pneumonia, Pope Francis was battling firm resistance from some of his own cardinals about how to plug a widening gap in the Vatican's finances.

Due to the complexity of the clinical picture, further days of clinical stability are needed to clarify the prognosis,” the Vatican said Thursday.