88-year-old Pope Francis remains hospitalized as his health continues to decline amid a battle with double pneumonia.
Francis, long criticized by conservatives for steering the Church into left-wing political activism rather than defending tradition and morality, has been suffering from a serious respiratory infection for over a week, which has now developed into double pneumonia—an aggressive infection that inflames both lungs.
A Vatican statement confirmed that the pope underwent a chest CAT scan on Tuesday, revealing the onset of double pneumonia.
The statement added, “polymicrobial infection, which has arisen in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and has required the use of corticosteroid and antibiotics, makes the therapeutic treatment more complex.”
“A follow-up chest CT scan, to which the Holy Father was subjected this afternoon—prescribed by the Vatican medical team and the medical staff of the “A. Gemelli” Polyclinic Foundation—revealed the onset of bilateral pneumonia, requiring additional pharmacological therapy.”
“Nevertheless,” the press release adds, “Pope Francis remains in good spirits.”
The Vatican posted another update on its website Wednesday night, stating that the Pope is in stable condition and that blood exams show a slight improvement.
“The Holy Father’s clinical condition is stationary. The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in the inflammatory indices.
After breakfast, the Pope read some newspapers and then went about his work with his closest collaborators. Before lunch he received the Eucharist. In the afternoon, he received a visit from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom he spent 20 minutes in private.”
However, new reports indicate that Pope Francis himself is deeply worried about his survival.
RadarOnline.com reveals that the 88-year-old pontiff has reportedly informed his aides that he “won’t survive” and is “preparing for death” while he battles pneumonia in the hospital.
According to two insiders speaking to Politico, the pope has been left in distress after being prevented from delivering his usual Sunday Angelus sermon, a duty he has rarely missed throughout his papacy.
More from Politico:
On Feb. 6, before he was hospitalized, he extended the term of the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals, a role that will oversee some preparations for a potential conclave, the secretive gathering that determines the selection of a new pope. The move, which controversially sidestepped a scheduled vote on the next dean by top cardinals, was intended to ensure that the process plays out according to Francis’s wishes, the people said.
Re, a longtime Vatican operator, is too old to participate in the conclave himself. Nevertheless, he will be a pivotal figure in the behind-closed-doors discussions that often take place before the conclave. That Francis selected him as dean instead of a younger candidate suggests he wanted to keep a friendly face in the role who would defend his legacy, said one of the people.
[…]
On Saturday, the pontiff also sped up his unprecedented reformist move to appoint a nun, Sister Raffaella Petrini, as the next and first woman governor of Vatican City, announcing that Petrini’s term would begin on March 1. That date was earlier than some expected and triggered unease about his health among allies, according to one high-ranking Church official. However, it might also have been a coincidence: the current governor, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, will turn 80 that day, making him ineligible for the role.
Even if Francis survives his latest illness, observers see this as a likely turning point as Francis shifts focus from making headway on reform to locking it in.
“He may not die now but of course he eventually will,” said one Vatican official. “We all die — and he’s an 88-year-old man with lung problems.”
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