Pope Francis: Not Afraid of Assassination Attempt, But I Fear Pain

An assassination attempt doesn't frighten him, but Pope Francis says the physical pain of it does.

"I'm a real scaredy cat when it comes to physical pain," the pontiff says in an interview with an Argentine magazine, Italian news outlet Gazzetta del Sud reports.

"I have said to the Lord: take care of me," he explains. But if your will is that I should die or that they do something to me, I ask you one favor: that they don't hurt me."

The candid admission comes months after an Islamic State (ISIS) plot to kill him was first revealed.

"Look, life is in God’s hands," says Francis, who was a nightclub bouncer before becoming a priest, in the magazine interview, Gazzetta del Sud reports.

Francis was in the crosshairs of another terrorist group while visiting Manila, though the plan was thwarted by the military there, Breitbart News reported.

And speaking to Italian police in January about the persistent rumors of an ISIS murder plot, Francis said he relied on his faith, International Business Times reported.

"On the horizon we see shadows and dangers which worry humanity," he said, the newspaper reported. "As Christians we are called not to lose heart or be discouraged."

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