Rome had spent months prepping up for the Roman Catholic Church Jubilee. It built tunnels, opened up squares and scrubbed moldy fountains. Now thousands of pilgrims were flocking from all over the world for the occasion — a year of…
Tag: Roman Catholic Church
Pope Experiences Another Setback With Respiratory Crises
Pope Francis had two acute respiratory crises on Monday, the Vatican said, stoking further concerns about the health of the 88-year old pontiff, who has been hospitalized in Rome in serious condition for more than two weeks. The pope has…
What Would the Church Say About End-of-Life Decisions for a Pope?
A respiratory crisis suffered by Pope Francis on Friday during his two-week hospitalization for pneumonia has added urgency to a delicate, and uncomfortable, question worrying many in the church: What would happen if the pope remains in critical condition for…
A Papal Primer That’s Fiction, but Also Rings True
After back-to-back wins for best picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and at Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, the papal thriller “Conclave” has a chance at a hat-trick on Sunday at the Academy Awards. The shot at cinematic glory…
Pope Francis Suffers a Health Setback, Inhaling Vomit
Pope Francis, hospitalized for two weeks, suffered a potentially serious setback on Friday, the Vatican said — a bronchial spasm that resulted in him inhaling vomit. It added that he had responded well to treatment and remained conscious and alert…
Francis’ Illness Raises a Hard Question: Who Governs if the Pope Can’t?
Since being hospitalized with acute pneumonia for two weeks, Pope Francis has signed off on the appointment of 20 bishops, accepted the resignations of at least four and approved moving five people along the road to sainthood, according to the…
Speculation Grows Over Whether the Pope Will Resign
Earlier this week, two top Vatican officials made a secret visit to see Pope Francis in the hospital. At first, the Vatican said it had no information about the meeting but then confirmed it, explaining the two prelates had come…
Anxious Prayers as Pope Francis Lingers in Critical Condition
Vatican City is an anxious place. Clergy keep their phones by their pillows. Reporters, crammed in the Holy See press office, open emails with trepidation. Faithful have begun to gather expectantly in St. Peter’s Square. All await terse bulletins from…
Francis Is in Critical Condition. What Happens When a Pope Dies?
The Catholic world is gripped with uncertainty as Pope Francis, 88, remains in critical condition in a Rome hospital because of a complex lung infection and other serious ailments. On Monday, the Vatican said Francis had awakened from a restful…
Pope Francis Had a Restful Night, Still in Critical Condition
Pope Francis spent a restful night at the Rome hospital where he has been in critical condition as he undergoes treatment for pneumonia and a complex infection, the Vatican said Sunday morning. Beyond the brief text — “The night passed…