Pope Francis Abruptly Cancels Audiences Amid 'Mild' Health Issue

Pope Francis has canceled some of his Saturday engagements because of a health issue, the Vatican has said.

The pontiff called off his engagements because of a "mild, flu-like state," an update from the Holy See Press Office said. The Vatican addedon February 24 that the day's engagements had been canceled, but that this was a preventative measure. Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said the weekly Sunday Angelus address had not yet been confirmed.

Newsweek has approached the Vatican for further comment.

Health

Pope Francis, 87, has suffered recent health issues including breathing problems, which he is prone to because of a bout of pneumonia in his youth in Argentina that led to the removal of part of his lung. The pontiff had to cancel a planned visit in December last year to the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai due to lung inflammation.

In March last year, Pope Francis was treated at a hospital in Rome for bronchitis. Following his release from hospital in early April, the Pope said he "wasn't frightened," followed by "I'm still alive you know."

"Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer," Bruni said in a statement then.

Other issues have also affected Pope Francis in recent years. He had surgery on his colon in 2019 and another procedure on his eye two years later. He had an operation on a hernia in June 2023.

An issue with his sciatica also means the pontiff required the occasional use of a wheelchair.

Church Divisions

The Pope faced a recent backlash among some in the Catholic Church over allowing priests to bless same-sex couples for the first time has faced opposition.

Around 90 Catholic clergymen, scholars and authors said in a letter that the pope's Fiducia Supplicans signed and released on December 18 should be withdrawn.

The Fiducia Supplicans essentially outlined that priests can give out blessings to couples who are in "irregular situations," including same-sex couples.

The document was called "contradiction with both Scripture and the universal and uninterrupted Tradition of the Church," in the letter published by LifeSiteNews.com. This is a media outlet dedicated to promoting "the great importance to society of traditional Judeo-Christian moral principles."

In response, the Pope doubled down on the Fiducia Supplicans and said some of the negative reaction to it was a hypocrisy. He was not addressing the letter specifically in his comments to Italian magazine Credere.

In August 2023, Pope Francis said during a private meeting there is a "very strong, organized, reactionary attitude" within the Catholic church in the U.S.