Pope stable in hospital and 'asks for prayers', Vatican says - as doctors treat 'complex' infection
The pope's condition is "stable" and he is "touched by messages of affection", the Vatican has said in an update amid his hospital stay.
Earlier on Monday, the Vatican said Pope Francis' respiratory tract infection is presenting a "complex clinical picture" and he will need to remain in hospital. Concerns have been growing about the 88-year-old's increasingly frail health.
Spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days indicate the pontiff is suffering from a "polymicrobial respiratory tract infection" that needed a further change in his drug therapy.
Polymicrobial infections are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
In a later update on Monday, the Vatican said his clinical conditions are stable and that he "read and worked" on Monday morning, adding "he's touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness that he continues to receive in these hours".
"In particular he intends to thank those who are currently hospitalised, for the affection and love that they express through the drawings and good wishes; he prays for them and asks that they pray for him."
It was not specified earlier whether the pope was suffering from a bacterial or viral infection.
There was no length of time given for the pope's hospitalisation, but the spokesman added the complexity of his symptoms "will require an appropriate hospital stay".
1:03
The pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital in a "fair" condition on Friday to be treated for a respiratory tract infection.
His doctors have advised complete rest. He was unable to deliver his regular weekly prayer on Sunday to pilgrims in St Peter's Square or lead a special mass for artists to mark the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year.
On social media at the weekend, the pope wrote: "Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you accompany me in these days."
The pope had been suffering from bronchitis for more than a week before he was taken to hospital.
He is said to have insisted on finishing his morning audiences on Friday before leaving the Vatican to be admitted to hospital.
The pope was finding it increasingly difficult to complete speeches and commitments last week because he was short of breath.
'Pope sounded a bit tired'
However, from his hospital bed at the weekend, the pope continued to make phone calls to members of a Catholic parish in Gaza, Italian broadcaster Mediaset reported.
A parish member said the pope had called on both Friday and Saturday and was in "good humour" but sounded "a bit tired".
The pope's next scheduled appointment is his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
He is then due to preside on Sunday at the ordination of deacons as part of a Holy Year weekend.
Both commitments remain on the official Vatican schedule, but appear to be in doubt.
The pontiff is being treated at Rome's largest hospital in a suite designed for popes.
The Argentinian pope had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man.
When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left hospital after three days - he later said he had been admitted after feeling faint and having a sharp pain in his chest.
In the same year, Pope Francis spent nine days at the Gemelli hospital when he had surgery for an abdominal hernia.
Age making it harder for Pope to beat infections
Science and technology editor
@t0mclark3
As we age, our ability to fight off infections or ailments that wouldn't have troubled us before gradually diminishes.
Pope Francis is 88 and unlike many people lucky enough to live that long, has a demanding job that likely leaves less time for the rest that our bodies, especially ageing ones, need.
The latest update from the Vatican suggests he isn't gravely ill – able to sit up and eat breakfast – but that his doctors have concluded the bronchitis he is suffering will require a longer hospital stay.
Bronchitis – an inflammation of the main airways leading to the lungs – can be severe as it can narrow those pipes leading to difficulty breathing.
It's only a real concern if the infection doesn't respond well to treatment and spreads deeper into the lungs themselves causing pneumonia.
The Vatican has said the pope's infection is "polymicrobial" meaning more than one type of microbe (bacteria, virus or fungal agent) has been identified.
That will mean adjusting the types of medication used to treat the infection, which in some cases can be tricky, especially if one of the bugs is resistant to common antimicrobial drugs – something that is increasingly common.
The pope is possibly more vulnerable to lung infections than a person of equivalent age as he had part of one lung removed following a severe infection when he was just 21.
He was previously hospitalised in 2023 with pneumonia and made a good recovery.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
Convicted former Catholic priest exposed by Spotlight investigation dies at 87
James Talbot, a former Catholic priest convicted of sexually assaulting boys in Maine and Massachusetts who was exposed by the investigation that led to the movie ' Spotlight,' has died. He was 87. Talbot, a former Jesuit, appeared on a list provided by the religious order of northeastern Jesuits who faced credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Talbot died on Feb. 28 at a hospice center in St. Louis, said Mike Gabriele, a spokesperson for Jesuits USA East. Talbot was one of the subjects of an investigation into priest sex abuse by The Boston Globe that was later adapted into the 2015 movie 'Spotlight.' The investigation revealed widespread sexual abuse, and coverup of that abuse, within the Catholic Church. Jesuits USA East did not offer a comment about Talbot's death. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact after charges that he sexually abused a 9-year-old boy at a Maine church in the 1990s. He was ordered to serve three years in prison for that conviction. Prior to the Maine conviction, Talbot spent six years in prison after pleading guilty to raping and sexually assaulting two students in Boston. He has settled lawsuits with more than a dozen victims in addition to the convictions. Talbot was a former teacher and athletic coach at Boston College High School from 1972 to 1980 who then transferred to Maine. He was at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine, until 1998. Former Boston College High School student Jim Scanlan, 63, reported Talbot's abuse in Massachusetts. The Associated Press does not typically use the names of sexual assault victims without their consent, which Scanlan provided. His reports led to criminal charges against Talbot. Scanlan said he has reached out to other survivors of Talbot's abuse. He said he holds people in positions of power within the church accountable for allowing Talbot to continue committing abuse over many years. Scanlan said he has tried to move on from his own anger at Talbot, but it's a long process. 'The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference,' Scanlan said. 'Maybe I just parked him away a long time ago, resolved I couldn't change what happened.' Jesuits USA East said Talbot had been residing at the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri, prior to entering hospice care. The center cares for sexually abusive priests as well as providing other health care services.
South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Former surgeon jailed for 20 years in France for raping 299 children
Joel Le Scouarnec was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting 299 children. Judges followed the public prosecutor's recommendations regarding the length of the sentence and the criminal court of Morbihan ordered that Le Scouarnec should serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he can be eligible for release. Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year prison sentence from 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of four children. The new trial in Brittany, western France, began in February and laid bare a pattern of abuse between 1989 and 2014. Most of the victims were unconscious or sedated hospital patients at the time of the assaults. The average age was 11. Among the victims were 158 boys and 141 girls. During the trial, advocacy groups accused health authorities of inaction after they were notified as early as 2005 of Le Scouarnec's conviction for possessing child pornography pictures. At the time, no measures were taken to suspend his medical licence or limit his contact with children and Le Scouarnec continued his abuse in hospitals until his arrest in 2017. Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger asked during his closing arguments: 'Should Joel Le Scouarnec have been the only one in the defendant's box? 'More could have been done. 'Things could have been done differently, even within the notorious layers of French bureaucracy, where responsibilities are so often passed from one authority to another until, eventually, that responsibility is lost, and hits innocent lives.' Le Scouarnec has confessed to all the sexual abuse alleged by the 299 civil parties, as well as to other assaults that are now beyond the statute of limitations. In a shocking admission during the trial, he also acknowledged sexually abusing a family member – a statement made in front of her visibly distraught parents. Le Scouarnec had been convicted in 2005 for possessing and importing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to four months of suspended prison time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year. Child protection groups that have joined the proceedings as civil parties hope that the case will help strengthen the legal framework to prevent such abuse. Le Scouarnec's trial came as activists continue to push to dismantle taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse in France. The most prominent case was that of Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of other men who were convicted and sentenced in December to between three and 20 years in prison. In a separate case focusing on alleged abuse at a Catholic school, an inquiry commission of the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, is investigating allegations of physical and sexual abuse over five decades. Victims of Le Scouarnec have complained of a perceived lack of attention. 'This trial, which could have served as an open-air laboratory to expose the serious failings of our institutions, seems to leave no mark on the government, the medical community, or society at large,' a group of victims said in a statement. Not all victims were initially aware they had been abused. Some were contacted by investigators after their names appeared in journals kept by Le Scouarnec, in which he meticulously documented his crimes. Others only realised they had been in hospital at the time after checking medical records. Two of his victims took their own lives some years before the trial. Using the cover of medical procedures, the former abdominal and digestive surgeon took advantage of moments when children were alone in their hospital rooms. His method was to disguise sexual abuse as clinical care, targeting young patients who were unlikely to remember the encounters. The notebooks, which detail the abuse in graphic language, have become central to the prosecution's case. Despite the scope of the allegations, Le Scouarnec remained calm and composed throughout the trial. 'I didn't see them as people,' he told the court, in reference to his victims. 'They were the destination of my fantasies. As the trial went on, I began to see them as individuals, with emotions, anger, suffering and distress.' While he offered apologies to some victims, his demeanour struck many as detached and emotionless. 'I don't show emotion, that's just how I am,' he said. 'That doesn't mean I don't feel it, but I don't express it.' The case first came to light in April 2017, when a six-year-old girl told her mother that the man next door had exposed himself and touched her through the fence separating their properties. A search of his home uncovered more than 300,000 photos, including images of child abuse, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a paedophile and detailed his actions. A third trial is expected in the coming years, following the emergence of new allegations during the trial.
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
Former surgeon jailed for 20 years in France for raping 299 children
Joel Le Scouarnec was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting 299 children. Judges followed the public prosecutor's recommendations regarding the length of the sentence and the criminal court of Morbihan ordered that Le Scouarnec should serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he can be eligible for release. Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year prison sentence from 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of four children. The new trial in Brittany, western France, began in February and laid bare a pattern of abuse between 1989 and 2014. Most of the victims were unconscious or sedated hospital patients at the time of the assaults. The average age was 11. Among the victims were 158 boys and 141 girls. During the trial, advocacy groups accused health authorities of inaction after they were notified as early as 2005 of Le Scouarnec's conviction for possessing child pornography pictures. At the time, no measures were taken to suspend his medical licence or limit his contact with children and Le Scouarnec continued his abuse in hospitals until his arrest in 2017. Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger asked during his closing arguments: 'Should Joel Le Scouarnec have been the only one in the defendant's box? 'More could have been done. 'Things could have been done differently, even within the notorious layers of French bureaucracy, where responsibilities are so often passed from one authority to another until, eventually, that responsibility is lost, and hits innocent lives.' Le Scouarnec has confessed to all the sexual abuse alleged by the 299 civil parties, as well as to other assaults that are now beyond the statute of limitations. In a shocking admission during the trial, he also acknowledged sexually abusing a family member – a statement made in front of her visibly distraught parents. Le Scouarnec had been convicted in 2005 for possessing and importing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to four months of suspended prison time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year. Child protection groups that have joined the proceedings as civil parties hope that the case will help strengthen the legal framework to prevent such abuse. Le Scouarnec's trial came as activists continue to push to dismantle taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse in France. The most prominent case was that of Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of other men who were convicted and sentenced in December to between three and 20 years in prison. In a separate case focusing on alleged abuse at a Catholic school, an inquiry commission of the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, is investigating allegations of physical and sexual abuse over five decades. Victims of Le Scouarnec have complained of a perceived lack of attention. 'This trial, which could have served as an open-air laboratory to expose the serious failings of our institutions, seems to leave no mark on the government, the medical community, or society at large,' a group of victims said in a statement. Not all victims were initially aware they had been abused. Some were contacted by investigators after their names appeared in journals kept by Le Scouarnec, in which he meticulously documented his crimes. Others only realised they had been in hospital at the time after checking medical records. Two of his victims took their own lives some years before the trial. Using the cover of medical procedures, the former abdominal and digestive surgeon took advantage of moments when children were alone in their hospital rooms. His method was to disguise sexual abuse as clinical care, targeting young patients who were unlikely to remember the encounters. The notebooks, which detail the abuse in graphic language, have become central to the prosecution's case. Despite the scope of the allegations, Le Scouarnec remained calm and composed throughout the trial. 'I didn't see them as people,' he told the court, in reference to his victims. 'They were the destination of my fantasies. As the trial went on, I began to see them as individuals, with emotions, anger, suffering and distress.' While he offered apologies to some victims, his demeanour struck many as detached and emotionless. 'I don't show emotion, that's just how I am,' he said. 'That doesn't mean I don't feel it, but I don't express it.' The case first came to light in April 2017, when a six-year-old girl told her mother that the man next door had exposed himself and touched her through the fence separating their properties. A search of his home uncovered more than 300,000 photos, including images of child abuse, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a paedophile and detailed his actions. A third trial is expected in the coming years, following the emergence of new allegations during the trial.
