VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis is still critically ill as he battles double pneumonia and the onset of slight kidney failure, but he remains alert, the Vatican said on Monday.
The 88-year-old pontiff was spending his 11th day in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, equaling the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year papacy.
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the pope‘s condition, said Francis was eating normally and was able to get up and move about his hospital room.
On Sunday, the Vatican described the pope‘s condition as critical for a second day and said blood tests had shown an “initial, slight insufficiency” in his kidney function, which it said was under control.
The pope received a blood transfusion on Saturday after experiencing a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” and his prognosis remained “guarded”, according to the latest medical update on Sunday evening.
“It was a good night, the pope slept and is resting,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a one-sentence update on Monday morning that did not provide further information.
A further update on the pope‘s condition was expected on Monday evening.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope‘s infection as “complex,” and said it was caused by two or more microorganisms.
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
The medical update on Sunday evening described the pope as “alert and well-oriented” and said he was receiving “high-flow oxygen therapy” through a tube under his nose.
It said the pope had “an initial, slight renal insufficiency, which is currently under control,” referring to the functioning of the kidneys, which filter waste products in the blood.
CARDINALS SPECULATE ABOUT POPE
The pope‘s prolonged illness has provoked an unusual amount of public speculation among Catholic cardinals, the highest ranking officials in the 1.4 billion-member church after the pontiff.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is not known as close to Francis and did not cite information beyond the Vatican’s medical updates, said in a homily during Mass at his cathedral on Sunday that the pope was “probably close to death”.
German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, a former Vatican official known to have disagreed with Francis on doctrinal issues, admonished prelates who were publicly speculating about the pope‘s condition or planning for a conclave, the secret gathering of cardinals to elect a new pope.
He told Italy’s Corriere della Sera that cardinals were not receiving any more information than the public about the pope‘s condition.
“We are not medical experts,” said Muller about cardinals.
“The pope is still alive and this is a moment for prayer,” he said. “If there is anyone who is looking to the future while Francis is in the hospital, that’s good for nothing.”
The Vatican was planning to host a prayer service for Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Monday evening. The service, the first of continuing nightly prayers in the square, will be led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second most senior official in the Vatican.
Outside Gemelli Hospital, groups were gathering on Monday to pray for Francis near a statue of the late Pope John Paul II, who was treated at the facility many times over his 1978-2005 papacy.
Maria Vozlv, a Ukrainian who has lived in Rome for 18 years, said many in her home country were praying for Francis.
The pontiff has often decried the three-year-old war in Ukraine and prayed for peace.
“We Ukrainians are really praying for him,” Vozlv said. “He needs to get well and come home.”
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Gabriele Pirelli; Editing by Giulia Segreti, Bernadette Baum and Frances Kerry)
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