Pope Francis has been in the hospital since Feb. 14 with double pneumonia. On Feb. 22, the Holy See Press Office reported that he is still in critical condition. While not “near death,” he is not out of danger.
The doctors who are treating him at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the team taking care of the Pope, and Dr. Luigi Carbone, the Vice-Director of the Vatican’s healthcare services, held a press conference on Friday afternoon, Feb. 21. They said that their greatest concern was the risk that germs from the Pope’s respiratory tract might enter his bloodstream, causing sepsis.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi was quoted by TASS as telling an interviewer for Corriere della Sera, “If Pope Francis has difficulties in fulfilling his papal duties, he will make his own decision. I think he may choose to resign. It’s up to him, he has the final say. The pope has a great desire to have a Jubilee Year dedicated to hope. It is important for him.” Cardinal Ravasi is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology.
