|
The one-line statement didn’t say if Francis, 88, had woken up.
“The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting,” it said.
Late Sunday, doctors reported that blood tests showed “early,
slight kidney insufficiency” that was nevertheless under
control. They said Francis remained in critical condition but
that he hadn't experienced any further respiratory crises since
Saturday.
He was receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen and, on
Sunday, was alert, responsive and attended Mass. They said his
prognosis was guarded.
Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his
age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. They have warned
that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious
infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of
pneumonia.
To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in
the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on
Sunday.
Monday marks Francis’ 10th day in the hospital, making this
equal to the longest hospitalization of his papacy. He spent 10
days at Rome’s Gemelli hospital in 2021 after he had 33
centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed.
In New York on Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan acknowledged what
church leaders in Rome weren’t saying publicly: that the
Catholic faithful were united “at the bedside of a dying
father.”
“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile
health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said in his homily
from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, though he later told
reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would “bounce back.”
Francis' condition has revived speculation about what might
happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and
whether he might resign.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
