Francesco Peluso, a Vatican expert in the Italian newspaper Domani, said Pope Francis’ recurring health problems required Vatican communications to be “as transparent as possible to avoid uncontrolled rumors”.
The first news about arrest The pope was released by the Vatican press office, which did not shy away from talking about Francis’ “laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery” on Wednesday.
“Using technical language is a way of deconstructing all these rumors, these conclusions that have always been present in the history of the Vatican about the health of the pope, when he is very old and his health begins to weaken,” said Francesco Peluso. .
While Francis V A room dedicated to the inks at the Gemelli HospitalIn Rome, Peluso stated that it was the Pope himself who repeatedly announced when he was going to have an examination or surgery.
“Of course, if the pope is not feeling well, the usual error about succession begins with questions about his real ability to continue doing his job,” Peluso adds.
It was the Pope himself who spoke of the possibility of resigning, the last time last March, when he said, in response to questions on Swiss television, that he would feel compelled to resign because of “the fatigue that does not allow one to see things clearly, the lack of clarity.” To learn how to evaluate situations.
in that interview Pope He also spoke of physical problems: “I always ask about it and follow the advice. How’s it going? Do you think I should?… I ask people who know me, even some clever cardinals. And they tell me the truth: carry on, it’s all right.”
In the Pope’s life there was no shortage of health problems, such as the lung operation he underwent when he was young.
There was also recurrent sciatica and, a few years ago, cataract surgery. [olhos]. In addition, the Pope has been suffering from knee pain for about a year, which forces him to use a wheelchair or a cane.
Last year, the Pope had to forgo some Masses (times reserved for pilgrims and visitors to hear the Pope and receive his blessing), once because of a fever, others because of fatigue and general health problems.
As for the trips, he canceled only one that he considered important. In July last year, it was scheduled to visit Congo and South Sudan, and due to knee problems, it was postponed to last February.
Justifying the advance, the director of the Holy See’s press office wrote at the time “to accept the doctors’ request, and not to frustrate the results of the knee treatments still in progress.”
The issue of resignation has returned to the debate several times over the past year. It was also spoken around the time Pope Benedict XVI died.
On that occasion there were also those who, given that the Pope Emeritus was no longer among us, thought that Francis could resign.
The surgery that the pope underwent on Wednesday followed the operation that Bergoglio performed on his colon two years ago, in July 2021.
At that time, he returned to the Vatican after a 10-day hospital stay, from July 4 to 14. The operation was performed by surgeon Sergio Alfieri, the same one who has now performed the laparotomy and plastic surgery on the abdominal wall.
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