Pope Francis still has difficulty breathing due to lung inflammation that forced him to cancel his trip to Dubai to participate in the UN climate summit (COP28), the Vatican announced this Wednesday.
Francis, who will turn 87 on December 17 and who had to have part of his lung removed when he was young, no longer has a fever and is stable, but continues to take antibiotics, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, quoted by Associated Press. Press. agency.
“Lung inflammation associated with breathing difficulties continues,” he said.
The Pope, who was hospitalized earlier this year for bronchitis, presided over his weekly public audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, but said he was still not feeling well and asked an assistant to read his statements as he could only speak. in a breath.
The pope revealed on Sunday that he had lung inflammation, but said at the time that he still planned to go to Dubai, where he would become the first pontiff to speak at a U.N. climate conference. However, he ended up canceling the trip, on medical advice.
Concern for the Environment has been a priority for Francis, who has been praised for his moral leadership on this issue.
This is the second time that the Pope’s fragile health has forced him to cancel a trip abroad, after having postponed a planned trip to Congo and South Sudan in 2022, due to knee inflammation, although he was able to make that trip in early this year.
Francis’ health has been the subject of debate since he made it clear that he would be willing to resign if illness prevented him from doing his job, as his predecessor, Benedict XVI, did in February 2013.
Source: TSF
