Cardinal Péter Erdő at a press conference for the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, June 14, 2021. / IEC 2021 Budapest
Budapest, Hungary, Jul 5, 2021 / 07:35 am (CNA).
Church leaders in Hungary and Slovakia have welcomed Pope Franc… […]
Pope Francis attends a Prayer Meeting for Peace in Rome’s Piazza del Campidoglio Oct. 20, 2020. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Jul 5, 2021 / 04:20 am (CNA).
Pope Francis is expected to spend the next week in hospital as he recovers from intestinal surgery, according to the Vatican.
“His Holiness Pope Francis is in good general condition, alert and breathing spontaneously,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on July 5.
The pope underwent a surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on July 4 to relieve stricture of the colon caused by diverticulitis.
The surgery lasted for about three hours and included a hemicolectomy, which is the removal of the left part of the colon.
The procedure was carried out under general anesthesia. Dr. Sergio Alfieri performed the surgery with the assistance of nine other physicians.
Colonic stricture, also called stenosis, is a condition in which part of the large intestine becomes narrower than usual. It can become dangerous if it is too narrow to let food safely pass through.
Diverticulitis, a common condition that involves the formation of small bulges or sacs on the wall of the colon, can cause the stricture.
Recovery from diverticulitis surgery typically includes a hospital stay of up to a week and at least another two weeks of limited activity.
As of July 5, there are no major events scheduled on Pope Francis’ public calendar for the upcoming weeks. The pope traditionally suspends his general audiences during July.
At the age of 84, Pope Francis has only had one other operation during his eight years as pope. He last underwent an operation in 2019, for cataracts.
Earlier this year, the pope was forced to miss several public events due to a recurrence of the sciatic pain that struck him at the end of 2020. Francis has suffered from the painful condition for several years.
After his personal physician died from complications related to COVID-19 in January, Pope Francis appointed internalist Roberto Bernabei as his doctor.
Bernabei is a specialist in aging and director of the School of Specialization in Geriatrics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. He was present in the surgical suite during the pope’s intestinal surgery in Gemelli hospital.
The Catholic hospital and medical school has treated other popes and Catholic figures, including John Paul II after he was shot in an assassination attempt and Mother Teresa, who was treated in the clinic’s cardiology department.
Pope Francis meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Jul 2, 2021 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi discussed the importance of protecting the Christian presence … […]
An evening procession at Lourdes in southwestern France. / Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Lourdes, France, Jul 2, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has launched a series of summer evening events to draw pilgrims back… […]
The official logo of the 2022 World Meeting of Families in Rome. / Diocese of Rome.
Vatican City, Jul 2, 2021 / 07:40 am (CNA).
Pope Francis called Friday for local gatherings to be held across the globe at the same time as next year’s World Mee… […]
Northern Ireland Executive CC BY ND 2.0
Dublin, Ireland, Jul 2, 2021 / 06:40 am (CNA).
The Primate of All Ireland accused the Irish government Thursday of communicating in a “grossly disrespectful” way that baptisms, First Communions, and confir… […]
St. Peter’s Square. / Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.
Vatican City, Jul 2, 2021 / 05:00 am (CNA).
A suspended Secretariat of State official was paid a side fee by a Swiss bank for bringing in Vatican investment funds, according to an Italian media re… […]
Fr. Hans Zollner. / Rebecski CC 4.0
Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2021 / 04:00 am (CNA).
Safeguarding expert Fr. Hans Zollner S.J. will serve as the director of a new anthropology institute succeeding the Center for Child Protection in Rome.The Pontifical… […]
Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his March 28, 2018 general audience in St. Peter’s Square. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Jul 2, 2021 / 03:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Friday that there “cannot and must not” be any opposition between faith and science.
The pope made the comment in a video message to participants in the “Science for Peace” event, an international meeting held on July 2-3 in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy.
“Dear and distinguished scientists, your meeting is a great gift of hope for humanity,” the pope said.
“Never before as in this time have we been aware of the need to relaunch scientific research to face the challenges of contemporary society.”
“And I am pleased that it is the diocesan community of Teramo which is promoting this meeting, thus testifying that there cannot and must not be any opposition between faith and science.”
The gathering, promoted by the Diocese of Teramo-Atri, is hosted by the University of Teramo and the Sanctuary of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.
The sanctuary — at the foot of the Gran Sasso d’Italia, a massif in the Apennine Mountains — is the burial place of St. Gabriel, an Italian Passionist, and a popular pilgrimage destination.
The Church is currently celebrating the centenary of St. Gabriel’s canonization. The Jubilee of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows began on Feb. 27 and will end on the same date in 2022.
The Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, the world’s largest underground research center, is located beneath the massif.
Referring to his latest encyclical, Fratelli tutti, the pope said it was vital that scientists worked together for the good of all.
“Moreover, as I noted in the encyclical, it is important not to overlook the ‘risk that a single scientific advance will be seen as the only possible lens for viewing a particular aspect of life, society, and the world,’” he said.
The pope noted that the coronavirus pandemic had prompted the scientific community to rethink “prevention, treatment, and health organization,” paying greater attention to relations between people.
He said: “Faced with the new challenges, you are entrusted, dear friends in science — yes, you! – with the task of testifying to the possibility of building a new social bond, endeavoring to bring scientific research closer to all the community, from the local to the international, and that together it is possible to overcome every conflict.”
“Science is a great resource for building peace!”
Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Matthias Kopp. / Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Matthias Kopp.
Berlin, Germany, Jul 1, 2021 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has highlighted the importance of unity with the universa… […]
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