Current:Home > FinanceAn ailing Pope Francis appears at a weekly audience but says he’s not well and has aide read speech-InfoLens
An ailing Pope Francis appears at a weekly audience but says he’s not well and has aide read speech
View Date:2024-12-23 21:09:17
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis presided at his weekly audience with the public at the Vatican, but he said that he’s still unwell and asked an aide to read his remarks for him on Wednesday, a day after canceling an overseas trip.
Francis, who will turn 87 on Dec. 17 and had part of one lung removed as a young man,, stood up briefly at the start of the event in a Vatican auditorium and made the sign of the cross, and then sat down.
With a soft voice, barely above a whisper, Francis told the public that “since I am not well,” his reading of his speech wouldn’t sound “pretty.” He then handed the printed speech to the aide while Francis remained seated on the stage.
On Tuesday, the Vatican announced that doctors had asked the pope, who has a lung inflammation causing breathing problems, to skip a three-day trip to a U.N. climate conference, known as COP28, in Dubai. The trip would have begun on Friday and have seen the pontiff return to Rome on Sunday.
The Holy See’s announcement of the canceled trip also said that his medical condition had improved, but noted that the pope had the flu and “inflammation of the respiratory airways.”
The pontiff, who has made caring for the environment a priority of his papacy, wanted in some way to participate in the discussions in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Holy See. It was unclear if Francis might read his address to the climate conference by videoconference or take part in some other form.
The Vatican said the pope had acquiesced to the doctors’ request “with great regret.”
Francis was hospitalized earlier this year for three days for intravenous treatment with antibiotics of what the Vatican then said was bronchitis.
The Vatican said the pontiff in his current illness was receiving antibiotics intravenously. In a televised appearance on Sunday, a cannula for intravenous use was visible on his right hand. A CT scan, performed at a Rome hospital on Nov. 25, had ruled out pneumonia, according to the Vatican.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
- Dyeing your hair can get messy. Here’s how to remove hair dye from your skin.
- Cher to headline Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: See all the performers
- See Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet Twin During Red Carpet Outing
- New York eyes reviving congestion pricing toll before Trump takes office
- Trooper accused of withholding body-camera video agrees to testify in deadly arrest of Black driver
- Georgia says it will appeal a judge’s redistricting decision but won’t seek to pause ruling for now
- Cornell University student Patrick Dai arrested for posting antisemitic threats online
- Horoscopes Today, November 10, 2024
- King Charles III acknowledges 'unjustifiable acts of violence' against Kenyans during Commonwealth visit
Ranking
- NFL MVP rankings: Does Steelers QB Russell Wilson deserve any consideration?
- Falcons to start QB Taylor Heinicke, bench Desmond Ridder against Vikings
- Cleanup is done on a big Kansas oil spill on the Keystone system, the company and EPA say
- The Fed held interest rates steady — but the fight against inflation is not over yet
- Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and More React to Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb as Co-Anchor
- Louisiana was open to Cancer Alley concessions. Then EPA dropped its investigation
- Real estate industry facing pushback to longstanding rules setting agent commissions on home sales
- Louisiana was open to Cancer Alley concessions. Then EPA dropped its investigation
Recommendation
-
Lunchables get early dismissal: Kraft Heinz pulls the iconic snack from school lunches
-
How good is Raiders' head-coaching job? Josh McDaniels' firing puts Las Vegas in spotlight
-
Tesla's Autopilot not responsible for fatal 2019 crash in California, jury finds in landmark case
-
Wind industry deals with blowback from Orsted scrapping 2 wind power projects in New Jersey
-
Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
-
Rare all-female NASA spacewalk: Watch livestream from International Space Station
-
Detroit-area man sentenced to 45-70 years in prison for 3 killings
-
When Kim Kardashian's nipple bra dropped, some people laughed. Breast cancer patients rejoiced.