Pope Francis may have surgical procedure on his stomach and stay in a Rome hospital for a number of days, the Vatican mentioned Wednesday, sparking renewed fears over the 86-year-old’s fragile well being.
The pope was pressured to cancel a number of work commitments in late Might after he was debilitated by a fever. He was additionally hospitalized in March for bronchitis however responded effectively to antibiotics. Leaving hospital on that event, Francis joked that he’s “nonetheless alive.”
Technically known as a laparotomy, Wednesday’s process entails common anesthesia and is meant to restore a hernia that the Vatican mentioned was inflicting “recurrent, painful and worsening” signs.
In accordance with medical sources, the intervention is probably going associated to the surgical procedure Francis skilled in 2021 to take away half of his colon.
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, added the pope was anticipated to make a “full practical restoration.”
Francis left for hospital on Wednesday after his common viewers at St. Peter’s Sq., the place he stopped to speak with members of the gang, Reuters reported. The pope traveled in a white Fiat 500 to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which has a 10th-floor suite reserved for popes, in line with Reuters.
Along with his colon surgical procedure two years in the past, Francis had a part of one lung eliminated after a extreme bout of pneumonia as a younger man. Extra not too long ago, in 2019, he underwent ocular surgical procedure at Rome’s Clinic of Pius XI to deal with a cataract. He has additionally struggled with persistent sciatica ache.
Over the previous yr, he skilled knee troubles which have largely confined him to using a cane or a wheelchair.
Ought to Francis be incapacitated for any size of time, the Vatican might discover itself dealing with one thing of a constitutional disaster. There isn’t a “vice pope” within the Catholic system, that means somebody who can train the pope’s authority in his absence.
The Vatican’s secretary of state, at the moment Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, can oversee routine day-to-day administration, however he has no authority, for instance, to nominate bishops or to create or suppress dioceses all over the world.
Resignation letter was ready
In an interview with Spanish every day ABC in December, Francis mentioned he had already ready a letter of resignation within the case of everlasting medical incapacity shortly after his election in 2013.
Francis mentioned he wrote the letter a number of years in the past and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who resigned in 2013.
In his first public feedback concerning the letter’s existence, the pope was quoted as saying: “I’ve already signed my renunciation. The Secretary of State on the time was Tarcisio Bertone. I signed it and mentioned: ‘If I ought to turn out to be impaired for medical causes or no matter, right here is my renunciation.’”
In 2013, Francis’ rapid predecessor, the late Pope Benedict XVI, made the just about unprecedented determination to resign from his place, citing “superior age” as the rationale and startling the Catholic world.
It marked the primary time a pope had stepped down in practically 600 years. The final pope to step down earlier than his loss of life was Gregory XII, who in 1415 give up to finish a civil struggle throughout the church during which multiple man claimed to be pope.
Pope Francis, in footage
The pope has positioned himself as a extra progressive chief than his predecessors throughout his decade-long tenure.
In 2016, he urged clergymen all over the world to be extra accepting of LGBTQ communities, however later walked again on feedback declaring help for civil union for same-sex {couples}.
He has made historic visits to Myanmar and Iraq, and was additionally the primary pontiff to have a good time Mass within the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, in 2019. The pope has additionally been a vocal supporter for peace in Ukraine.
Francis has additionally taken steps to crack down on clerical sexual abuse, a problem the Catholic Church has been suffering from in a number of international locations all over the world.
CNN’s Delia Gallagher, Xiaofei Xu, Rob Picheta and Sophie Tanno contributed reporting.
This text was initially printed by cnn.com. Learn the unique article right here.
Comments are closed.