Pope Francis has been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, complicating his ongoing treatment for respiratory issues, the Holy See Press Office confirmed in a Tuesday evening statement.
Despite the severity of his condition, the Vatican reassures that the Pope “remains in good spirits.”
The latest update follows his hospitalization last Friday for bronchitis. According to the press release, “Laboratory tests, chest X-rays, and the clinical condition of the Holy Father continue to present a complex picture.”
Medical evaluations have identified a polymicrobial infection, which developed alongside bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis. This has necessitated the use of corticosteroids and antibiotics, making the treatment process more challenging.
“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.”
While undergoing treatment, Pope Francis has remained active in prayer and reflection. The statement noted that he “received the Eucharist and, throughout the day, alternated between rest, prayer, and reading. He expresses his gratitude for the support he feels at this time and kindly asks that prayers for him continue.”
“The Pope spent a restful night, woke up and had breakfast,” the Holy See Press Office shared in a note to journalists on Wednesday morning.
Pope Francis welcomed Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the “Auletta,” or small study, of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, according to a statement issued by the Holy See Press Office.
During the meeting, Dr. Bawumia held discussions with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
The discussions highlighted the positive relations between the Holy See and Ghana, focusing on various aspects of Ghana’s political and socio-economic landscape.
The meeting also emphasized the ongoing collaboration between the two entities, particularly in critical sectors such as education and healthcare.
Additionally, the talks addressed current international matters, with a specific focus on security challenges faced by countries in West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
This exchange of views reflects the shared concern for addressing regional security issues and fostering stability in these areas.
The meeting between Pope Francis and Vice President Bawumia signifies the ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the Holy See and Ghana, aiming to strengthen partnerships and address mutual concerns at both national and international levels.
The Vatican has officially affirmed the prohibition of Catholics joining the Freemasons, a centuries-old clandestine society that the Catholic Church has historically regarded with suspicion.
The Freemasons, with an estimated global membership of up to six million, have faced longstanding opposition from the Catholic Church.
“Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry,” the Vatican’s doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
The Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, a department within the Vatican, has issued its stance, dated November 13 and endorsed by Pope Francis, in response to a concerned bishop from the Philippines regarding the increasing presence of Freemasons in the country.
This comes shortly after the same office announced that transgender individuals are permitted to be baptised, serve as godparents, and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings.
The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican’s doctrine chief, stating that Catholics “in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion”.
Masonic lodges are normally male-only societies associated with arcane symbols and rituals. They have also sometimes been linked to conspiracy theories alleging undue influence on world affairs.
According to the United Grand Lodge of England, modern Freemasonry “is one of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world”, rooted in the traditions of mediaeval stonemasons.
The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.
It lists the lateQueen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the late actor Peter Sellers, former England soccer manager Alf Ramsey and authors Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle as famous Freemasons from the past.
On Saturday, July 22, President Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy visit to Pope Francis in Rome to strengthen diplomatic ties between Ghana and the Vatican.
This visit was a part of the President’s official four-day visit to Italy, aiming to reaffirm the friendship between the two nations.
During the visit, the Ghanaian delegation was taken on a tour of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences at the Vatican by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, a respected Catholic priest of Ghanaian origin.
Ghana shares the Holy See’s commitment to addressing critical issues such as the climate crisis, human trafficking, and promoting equality for all.
On the occasion of Pope Francis’ 10th anniversary as Pope, which coincided with the National Day of the Holy See, President Nana Akufo-Addo lauded the Pope’s dedication to the betterment of humanity.
Since 2013, Pope Francis has advocated for fairness, equality among nations, and has spoken against discrimination and exploitation.
The Vatican has been a supportive partner in Ghana’s development efforts, particularly in areas like education, health, and youth development over the years.
Cardinal George Pell’s funeral on Thursday in Australia, mourners murmured prayers and sang hymns; however, hecklers kept shouting his damnation.
The Catholic priest, who passed away last month at the age of 81 due to complications from surgery, leaves behind a difficult legacy.
He was once the top assistant to the Pope and the top Catholic in Australia.
But unsubstantiated claims that he committed child sexual abuse and covered it up damaged his reputation.
These accusations dominated Thursday’s events in Sydney. Police outside St. Mary’s Cathedral took action at one point to separate irate mourners from chanting protesters. One protester was earlier detained.
Inside the church, where Cardinal Pell served as the city’s archbishop for over a decade, dignitaries including former Prime Ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott filled pews. Hundreds more gathered in a forecourt to watch the requiem Mass on big screens.
Noticeably absent were Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet – himself a devout Catholic. Both sent delegates.
In a message read to the congregation, Pope Francis praised Cardinal Pell’s “dedication to the gospel and to the Church”, while Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher lauded him as “giant of the Catholic Church in Australia” who had been wrongly demonised.
Over six decades, Cardinal Pell rose to prominence in the Church as a strong supporter of traditional Catholic values.
He took on the role of Vatican treasurer in 2014 but left in 2017, returning to Australia to face trial on child sexual abuse charges. He was convicted, then later acquitted on appeal.
Many of Cardinal Pell’s supporters believe he was unfairly persecuted, and that his record on the issue of child sexual abuse is part of what made him great.
Mr Abbott, who spoke at the funeral, claimed Cardinal Pell had been the first Australian Catholic to sack child abusers and report them to police. Others pointed to the landmark – but controversial – compensation scheme he set up.
“He was greatest man I’ve ever known,” Mr Abbott said.
Image caption,Cardinal George Pell was Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic
Others who gathered to pay their respects said he was a kind man, quick to offer support and encouragement to those going through challenging times.
One mourner told the BBC he hopes the cardinal will be remembered “for the things he did and not for the things that he was accused of”.
“He was a good man,” Nathan, 33, added. “He fought for the rights of many people, contrary to popular belief.”
But outside the cathedral square, child abuse survivors remembered him as someone who had failed to protect them.
Some travelled from other states to tie ribbons to the church fence – a gesture seen in Australia as a tribute to victims of the Church abuse crisis. Most were cut down overnight on Wednesday by supporters of Cardinal Pell.
A landmark inquiry into Australian child sexual abuse found Cardinal Pell had personally known of abuse by priests as early as the 1970s and had failed to act. Cardinal Pell disputed the findings, saying they were “not supported by evidence”.
“I can’t let today pass without standing for him. He is not well enough to stand for himself,” she told the BBC.
Image caption,Maureen was among those who left hundreds of ribbon tributes for child sexual abuse survivors
Protesters gathering in parkland opposite the cathedral remembered Cardinal Pell as a “monstrous bigot”.
“Pell stood for blatant homophobia, misogyny… covering up abuse within the Catholic Church,” organiser Kim Stern told the BBC.
“We think it’s pretty disgusting he’s getting a send-off like this.”
Also out in force were police, trying to temper simmering tensions.
Thursday’s funeral follows weeks of tense debate in Australia about Cardinal Pell’s legacy.
Mourner Louisa Pastoois personally admired the cardinal, but she told the BBC she has accepted his legacy will be mixed.
“The legacy he leaves behind in the Church, and the world… is something different,” Louisa said.
“I think there needed to be someone to take the blame for all that’s happened in the church… there needs to be a face to the sins and unfortunately, it was his.”
Pope Francis has called homosexuality laws “unjust,” saying God loves his children exactly as they are, and has urged Catholic bishops who support the laws towelcome LGBTQ people into the church.
“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday.
He acknowledged Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws criminalising homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community – and referred to the issue in terms of “sin”.
But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognise the dignity of everyone.
“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us”
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws.
Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatisation and violence against LGBTQ people.
In the US, more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional.
Gay rights advocates say the antiquated laws are used to harass homosexuals, and point to new legislation, such as the so-called “don’t say gay” law in Florida, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from nurseries through to school year four, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalise LGBTQ people.
The United Nations (UN) has repeatedly called for an end to laws criminalising homosexuality outright, saying they violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a breach of countries’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Being homosexual is not a crime. It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime. It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.
Declaring such laws “unjust”, Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them.
“It must do this. It must do this,” he said.
Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gays must be welcomed and respected and should not be marginalised or discriminated against.
“We are all children of God and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking from the Vatican hotel where he lives.
Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law.
Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered”, while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
Rolando Jimenez, leader of a Chilean gay rights organisation, holds a flaming Vatican flag during a protest by gay activists against the Roman Catholic Church’s rejection of same-sex marriages, in front of a cathedral in Santiago, Chile, in 2003 (Santiago Llanquin/AP)
In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalisation of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies”.
In the end, the pope did not meet with the groups, which instead met with the Vatican number two, who reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence”.
On Tuesday, Francis said there needs to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.
“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said.
“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.
Pope Francis ponders a question during the interview (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Catholic teaching holds that while gay people must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”.
Francis has not changed that teaching but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.
Starting with his famous 2013 declaration, “Who am I to judge?” when asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favoured granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.
Despite such outreach, Francis was criticised by the Catholic LGBTQ community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin”.
The Vatican in 2008 declined to sign onto a UN declaration that called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, complaining the text went beyond the original scope and also included language about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” it found problematic.
Pope Francis has joined pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square to preside over the funeral of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned as Pope in 2013.
As the cypress-wood coffin containing Pope Benedict XVI’s body was brought out and placed on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the dome was shrouded in mist.
The congregation that had gathered for the funeral applauded.
Benedict was then buried beneath the basilica in a tomb.
Clergy from around the world had come—cardinals in red vestments, nuns, and monks in their dark robes.
Pope Francis was brought out onto the dais in a wheelchair.
Latin chants sung by the Sistine Chapel choir echoed across the square. The mood was solemn and subdued.
Daniele, a teacher who had met the former pontiff at a church in Rome, told me the weather matched the occasion. “The fog represents the mystery of Pope Benedict, the mystery of death and life. I feel very happy and emotional to be in St. Peter’s Square.”
The pope was “an important voice in the church”, Daniele said.
During the Mass, concelebrated by cardinals, bishops, and priests, Pope Francis spoke of “wisdom, tenderness, and devotion that he has bestowed upon us over the years”.
“Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom,” he said referring to Jesus, “may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever.”
Some 50,000 mourners came to the funeral, according to police. Official delegations were there from Italy and from former Pope Benedict’s home country of Germany. Other leaders, including the king and queen of Belgium attended in a private capacity.
Benedict’s death brings to an end the era of a pope and a former pope living side by side in the Vatican – an unprecedented situation brought about by Benedict’s resignation almost a decade ago.
In February 2013, I stood watching in St Peter’s Square as he flew away from the Vatican in a helicopter, at the end of his pontificate.
The ceremonies surrounding his death have been simpler than those for a sitting pope.
Over the past few days, some 200,000 people came to the Vatican to pay their respects to the former pontiff, as he lay in state in front of the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica.
On the day before the funeral, I joined the long line of visitors and mourners queuing to view his body. Dressed in red and gold vestments, he had a rosary clasped in his white, waxy hands.
There was no display of usual papal regalia like the silver staff, a sign that he was no longer Pope when he died.
But in line with tradition, a lead tube containing an account of Benedict’s papacy, as well as other items, including Vatican coins minted during his reign, were placed in the coffin.
At the end of the service, the choir sang, “May the angels lead you into paradise.” Pope Francis placed his hand on the wooden coffin in a final prayer, before it was carried away, to be sealed and placed in another coffin made of zinc with an outer one of wood.
It was buried in the crypt under St Peter’s Basilica, where Pope John Paul II was originally interred in 2005 before his body was moved up to a chapel, after his beatification.
While many leading figures have praised Benedict since his death – paying tribute to his theological studies – there has also been criticism, particularly by victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The Snap Survivors network said the former pope “virtually ignored the burning problem of clergy sexual abuse during his tenure in office”.
“In his more than 25 years as the world’s most influential religious figure,Pope Benedict XVI fell short in protecting children and adults around the world.”
In St Peter’s Square, feelings about the former pope were mixed. Gaia from Sardinia said that while Benedict had been “a very good pope, I prefer Pope Francis. I think that he’s closer to people in 2023”.
Simona from Monza in northern Italy told me she was concerned that Francis might follow Benedict’s example and retire.
“I’m worried that he is sick,” she said. “And I really do hope that he still has the strength to keep the Church united and to go on and give hope to this world.”
Christopher Lamb, Vatican correspondent of the Catholic magazine The Tablet, said Francis now faced a new moment in his pontificate, but he expected him to continue his pace of reform within the Church.
“The death of Benedict does leave it open for Francis to step down if he wishes, but I wouldn’t bet on it because this Pope really has a lot to accomplish in terms of reforms.”
Former Pope of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95.
In a statement by the Vatican News, the Pope is said to have died in the Vatican at 9:34 on Saturday, December 31, 2022.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, the late Pope retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013.
He was elected Pope of the Catholic Church in 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II.
He chose to be known as “Pope Emeritus” following his resignation in 2013.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, asked for prayers for the Pope Emeritus after announcing that Benedict XVI was “very ill.”
“Let us #PrayTogether for Pope Emeritus Benedict who is supporting the Church in silence. Let us ask the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Pope Francis wrote in a Twitter post.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.
The Vatican says Pope Francis will not be present at the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
The de facto foreign minister for the Pope will take his seat.
The Vatican says in a statement: “The Most Reverend Paul Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations, will represent Pope Francis at the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“Over recent months the Pope has suffered ongoing knee trouble that hasimpacted his mobility. On a July trip to Canada, he spent much of his visit in a wheelchair.
