VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis cancelled official engagements for the third day in a row Saturday as he battled an apparent cold.
The 83-year-old pope, who lost part of a lung to a respiratory illness as a young man, has never cancelled so many official audiences or events in his seven-year papacy.
Francis is, however, continuing to work from his residence at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel and is receiving people in private, the Vatican press office said. On Saturday, those private meetings were with the head of the Vatican’s bishops’ office, Francis’ ambassadors to Lebanon and France and a Ukrainian archbishop.
Cancelled were his two planned official audiences — formal affairs in the Apostolic Palace where Francis would have delivered a speech and greeted a great number of people at the end. Those were to include an audience with an international bioethics organization and with members of the scandal-marred Legion of Christ religious order.
6 mothers who ‘cherished time together’ among victims in avalanche near Lake Tahoe
Woman charged with animal abandonment after leaving dog tied at JetBlue counter at Las Vegas airport
Documents show Epstein received pitch for properties housing Pentagon, FBI tenants after 2008 conviction
Buttigieg, Newsom, AOC top three in new 2028 poll in key presidential primary state
College student dies in tragic ski accident at Wisconsin resort, marking second death within a month
Red state auditor’s report flags Democratic governor’s ‘concerning’ spending on ‘luxury’ expenditures
Trump’s NIH director isn’t the only official wearing multiple hats during the president’s second term
Apple iCloud accused of failing to stop ‘child porn’ in West Virginia lawsuit
Colbert Follows Up FCC ‘Equal Time’ Fiasco by Sitting Down with Liberal Senator Who’s Up for Re-election
Judge overstepped by ordering Mark Zaid’s security clearance restored: DOJ
Cambodian PM says Thai forces occupying disputed land despite Trump-brokered ceasefire
Chilling: 2 Different AIs Are Willing to Slaughter Every Person With Traditional Values to Avoid Offending a Single Trans Person – and It Gets Even Worse
Colbert Catastrophe: FEC Urged to Investigate After Host Lies About Censorship, Raising Millions for Crockett Opponent
Massie faces backlash over Epstein demand, critics suggest he should ‘seriously reconsider’ Congress
Senate hopeful with deep Dem ties has paid family over $350K from his campaign coffers
"Today in Lombardy there are 406 positive cases of #coronavirus, of which 216 hospitalised." https://t.co/5OeOXeP87q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 29, 2020
6 mothers who ‘cherished time together’ among victims in avalanche near Lake Tahoe
Woman charged with animal abandonment after leaving dog tied at JetBlue counter at Las Vegas airport
Documents show Epstein received pitch for properties housing Pentagon, FBI tenants after 2008 conviction
Buttigieg, Newsom, AOC top three in new 2028 poll in key presidential primary state
College student dies in tragic ski accident at Wisconsin resort, marking second death within a month
Red state auditor’s report flags Democratic governor’s ‘concerning’ spending on ‘luxury’ expenditures
Trump’s NIH director isn’t the only official wearing multiple hats during the president’s second term
Apple iCloud accused of failing to stop ‘child porn’ in West Virginia lawsuit
Colbert Follows Up FCC ‘Equal Time’ Fiasco by Sitting Down with Liberal Senator Who’s Up for Re-election
Judge overstepped by ordering Mark Zaid’s security clearance restored: DOJ
Cambodian PM says Thai forces occupying disputed land despite Trump-brokered ceasefire
Chilling: 2 Different AIs Are Willing to Slaughter Every Person With Traditional Values to Avoid Offending a Single Trans Person – and It Gets Even Worse
Colbert Catastrophe: FEC Urged to Investigate After Host Lies About Censorship, Raising Millions for Crockett Opponent
Massie faces backlash over Epstein demand, critics suggest he should ‘seriously reconsider’ Congress
Senate hopeful with deep Dem ties has paid family over $350K from his campaign coffers
On Sunday, Francis is expected to leave the Vatican with top Holy See bureaucrats for a week of spiritual exercises in the Roman countryside, an annual retreat that the pope attends at the start of each Lent.
Francis last appeared in public on Wednesday, when he was seen coughing and blowing his nose during an Ash Wednesday Mass. The following day, he cancelled a Mass across town with Roman priests and on Friday, skipped an audience with participants of a Vatican conference on artificial intelligence.
The Vatican has stressed that Francis has celebrated Mass each morning and greeted attendees at the end, and then proceeded to continue working from home.
The Vatican hasn’t revealed the nature of Francis’ illness, saying only he has a “slight indisposition.” Francis’ illness, though, has come amid general alarm in Italy over the coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened more than 800 people, most in northern Italy.
Sky News Anchor Asks if @VP Mike Pence, as a Christian, Is Fit for #Coronavirus Role https://t.co/LvOLuaS3wJ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 28, 2020
Story cited here.
