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Pope Francis delivering his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer, from the chapel of the hotel at the Vatican grounds where he lives, on Sunday. Alamy Stock Photo

Pope Francis receiving antibiotics intravenously for lung problem, Vatican says

Francis will scale back his appointments, but does not have pneumonia or fever, officials said.

POPE FRANCIS IS receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat a lung inflammation and will scale back some appointments – but he does not have pneumonia or fever, the Vatican said.

Francis himself revealed yesterday that he was suffering from the inflammation problem, explaining why he did not keep his weekly window appointment to greet people in St Peter’s Square.

Instead, he gave his blessing from the chapel of the hotel on Vatican grounds where he lives.

Vatican press office director, Matteo Bruni, said in a written statement today that the inflammation was causing some respiratory difficulties for Francis, whose 87th birthday is next month.

“The condition of the pope is good and stationary, he doesn’t have a fever, and the respiratory situation is in clear improvement,” Bruni said.

A CT scan, which the pope underwent on Saturday afternoon at a Rome hospital, ruled out pneumonia, Bruni added.

To aid the pope’s recovery, “some important commitments expected for the next days have been postponed so he can dedicate the time and desired energy” to his recovery, the spokesman said.

Other appointments, “of institutional character or easier to maintain given the current health conditions, have been maintained”, Bruni added.

He did not spell out which appointments were being put off. But it appeared that Francis was keeping his private audience with the president of Paraguay this morning.

In televised remarks on yesterday, Francis indicated he is going ahead with a three-day trip, beginning on 1 December, to the United Arab Emirates, to deliver a speech on climate change at the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate talks.

When he gave his blessing yesterday, a bandage, holding in place a cannula for intravenous treatment, was clearly visible on his right hand.

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    Mute Willie Marty
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    Nov 27th 2023, 11:28 AM

    Get well soon Pope Francis a decent human being loved by many but despised by many also as we will no doubt see from some of the commentators on here.

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    Mute Staker Wallace
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    Nov 27th 2023, 11:36 AM

    @Willie Marty: The new hate speech laws will stop a lot of that.

    46
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    Mute Mic JHintl
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    Nov 27th 2023, 11:58 AM

    @Willie Marty: I don’t despise him personally just the disgraceful organisation he heads. He seems to be a reasonably decent person if not somewhat misguided.

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    Mute Justin Gillespie
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:08 PM

    @Mic JHintl: “somewhat misguided” indeed. I needed cheering up this morning and your post, even if it was not the intention, has done the trick. Mile buiochas

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:13 PM

    @Mic JHintl: fair bit of tar on that brush of yours

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:40 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: were you one of them?

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    Mute Mic JHintl
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    Nov 27th 2023, 3:37 PM

    @Paul Gorry: everyone that puts money and time into this organisation is complicit.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 3:41 PM

    @Mic JHintl: nah, wrong

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 4:42 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: cool story, bro, I’ll read the rest of it later lol

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 5:42 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: don’t be worrying yourself about what I believe in, life’s too short

    17
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    Mute patrick kelly
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    Nov 27th 2023, 11:32 AM

    Release the Vatican papers.. Stop hiding the abusers!

    64
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    Mute Tommy Haze
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    Nov 27th 2023, 11:53 AM

    @patrick kelly:
    The Vatican Papers were about financial corruption and blackmail.

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    Mute Peter
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:08 PM

    @Tommy Haze:

    What sort of blackmailing would there be?

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    Mute Sean
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    Nov 27th 2023, 2:11 PM

    @Tommy Haze: And the particular type of blackmail that is most used by secret agencies is..

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    Mute SerotoninWars
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:08 PM

    What about all the prayers? Surely one of the most prayed for men on earth shouldn’t need silly human stuff like antibiotics? It’s the same situation when we get the ‘praying for’ pleasantries rolled out every time something awful happens. If prayers worked the situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place. I wish no ill on him whatsoever before someone accuses me of being hateful. Just tired of being asked to pray or being told I’m one of the ‘everybody’ who is praying for whatever, when it’s painfully obvious that it’s just about the most useless thing you can do in any situation.

    ‘he gave his blessing from the chapel’

    Again what does this even mean? What happens after he does this? Any way of measuring the effects?

    58
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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:16 PM

    @SerotoninWars: the bit of faith gives some people solace, relax a small bit.

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    Mute SerotoninWars
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:20 PM

    @Setanta O’Toole: Solace how exactly? That someone will intervene? That they will pick your prayer out of the millions and send it to distro? There are far better uses of our time. It’s hard to relax when this magical thinking is still dictating so so much in our world. Politics, war, education, laws. It’s endless.

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:27 PM

    @SerotoninWars: it might help them to deal with tough times. A coping mechanism. I’m sure you have plenty more to do with your time than enraging yourself with how other people try to cope with adversity at no effect to you whatsoever. Religion is mostly used as a smokescreen in all those things you mention, it is far removed from the ordinary person offering prayers as means of consolation in tough times.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:17 PM

    @SerotoninWars: if people find solace in it then that’s their business, you should probably mind your own and stop hyperventilating

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    Mute Tom Dillon
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:38 PM

    @Setanta O’Toole: “You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Two reasons: First of all, I think he’s a good actor, okay? To me, that counts. Second, he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn’t fk around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with.”

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    Mute SerotoninWars
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    Nov 27th 2023, 4:12 PM

    @Paul Gorry: Ah the classic shut up and mind your own business…about something that is a positive world beater when it comes to NOT minding its own business! It’s there from the very start from enforced baptisms and schooling right through to influencing and dictating politics, laws, basic human rights and even what’s deemed worthy of official celebrations. It’s tentacles are long, very very long. People have every right to call out something so pervasive and we’ll continue to do so :)

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 4:19 PM

    @SerotoninWars: keep your nose out of other people’s private lives and you’ll be grand

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    Mute SerotoninWars
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    Nov 27th 2023, 4:29 PM

    @Paul Gorry: Get your abusive, exploitative, domineering, unelected, sexist religions out of our education system, public life, laws and culture and keep it to a little hobby you practise on your own and we’ll be grand x

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 4:33 PM

    @SerotoninWars: not sure what any of that nonsense you just went to the bother of typing has anything to do with solace, maybe meditation could help you

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 5:06 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: what’s that got to do with people finding solace? Very triggered I must say, deep breaths

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    Mute Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:24 PM

    The sex abuse snipers are always on the trigger once the word religion or Pope is mentioned. It’s understandable as much as the thugs who rioted last week were understandable. There’s a frustration. However the numbers for abusive clergy aren’t even near the numbers for other professions, especially lay and secular teaching, yet we don’t have to read the same amount of vitriol once a teaching union head has something to say. This is supported by data, research and facts. If you hate the Church, that’s grand, the mosque or the protestants are waiting for you with open arms and then remember them in your will and last testament.

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    Mute Alan
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:27 PM

    @Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh: do you have figures for individual organisations and sex abuse? Or are you just going on instinct?

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    Mute Alison Hughes
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:47 PM

    @Alan: Nothing more to say?
    Kinda bested there, weren’t ya!

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    Mute Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:41 PM

    @Alan

    Teachers abuse is from Dr. Carol Shakeshaft. Prof Shakeshaft was appointed to conduct the study and submitted findings in 2004 in a 156-page report entitled Educator Sexual Misconduct: “A Synthesis of Existing Literature”. Her conclusions are devastating for detractors of the RC church. “So we think the RC Church has a problem?” she opined. Her report showed the enormity of CSA in US public schools vastly exceeded CSA by priests, using the John Jay Report as her benchmark. She estimates 290,000 kids were sexually abused by US public school employees in just one decade, from 1991-2000, as opposed to 12,000 victims of priests over the 5 decades examined by the John Jay Board. “The physical sexual abuse of students in public schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.”

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    Mute gregory pym
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:56 PM

    @Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh: it’s been shown that the level of abuse is the same in the general arena as it was in the clergy. I work closely with Brothers and Priests etc in my work. They to a person were and still are appalled by what a few bad clergy did. They do good work which the majority of the public have no interest in. I am not religious myself but respect the Father and understand that while he is trying to bring reform he is still constrained by a lot of old school cardinals. Rome was not built in a day and it will take time for it to change further.

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Nov 27th 2023, 7:18 PM

    @Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh: 12k.

    Lol.

    Spain has more than that, on its own.

    The church and its staff are responsible for hundreds of thousands of rapes.

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    Mute gregory pym
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    Nov 28th 2023, 8:27 AM

    @Chris O’Brien: I don’t disagree with you but reiterate that the level of abuse is the same in the wider society. My best friend in secondary school was abused by a teacher in 1st year and it had a terrible impact on him. He eventually became a heroin addict and ended up in Jail for smuggling to support his habit. We never knew till 30 years later what he went thru. I’d punch that teacher in the face if I saw him in the street today.

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    Mute finbarr walsh
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:21 PM

    The journal asks in another story how did last week’s riots effect you and the comments are closed

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    Mute Muriel Ryan
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    Nov 27th 2023, 6:50 PM

    Get well soon Papa Francis !!

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    Mute Tom Dillon
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:49 PM

    He could levy the harshest penalty, excommunication, against a dozen or more of the most egregious abuse enabling church officials. (He’s done this to no enablers, or predators for that matter.) He could insist that every diocese and religious order turn over every record they have about suspected and known abusers to law enforcement. Pope Francis could order every prelate on the planet to post on his diocesan website the names of every proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting cleric. (Imagine how much safer children would be if police, prosecutors, parents and the public knew the identities of these potentially dangerous men.) He could demote at least a dozen or more Vatican bureaucrats and four or five dozen bishops who are or have concealed known or suspected child sex crimes and openly denounce them and lay out their complicity. In recent years, public outrage has forced Francis to take action against a handful of bishops. But he perpetuates a long-standing pontifical pattern of quietly letting an embattled bishop ‘retire’ or ‘resign,’ either deceptively citing ‘health reasons’ or saying nothing at all while letting these bad bishops keep their titles and pensions while they live lavishly and attend important church functions and while most of their flock and their colleagues act as though no wrong was done.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 27th 2023, 1:13 PM

    Get well soon, Franny

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Nov 27th 2023, 3:28 PM

    I have no interest in the Roman Catholic or any other church or religious organisation. So the fact that an old man is taking antibiotics is not what I would consider “news”.

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    Mute John Kenny
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    Nov 27th 2023, 12:58 PM

    Must be bet

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Nov 27th 2023, 7:16 PM

    We should treat him the same way he’s treated victims of his corporation: pretend he doesn’t exist, call everyone that says he does exist a liar, etc.

    The RCC is a criminal enterprise. And btw it has fought tooth and nail to avoid paying money to its hundreds of thousands of victims… Whole owning the world’s largest private art collection.

    Immoral at best.

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