Pope Francis has approved a new three-year reform process for the Catholic Church, sending a strong signal he plans to continue in the post despite spending more than a month in hospital battling pneumonia.

Pope Francis has entered the fifth week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia very much looking ahead as he continued work on a priority of his papacy.

Pope Francis approved a new three-year process to consider reforms for the global Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Saturday, in a sign the 88-year-old pontiff plans to continue on as pope despite his ongoing battle with double pneumonia.