ROME – Pope Francis was described as being in stable condition Sunday following a respiratory spasm two days prior, with the Vatican saying the mechanical ventilation he had been receiving has now been removed.
A March 2 statement from the Vatican said, “the clinical conditions of the Holy Father continued to be stable also today; the pope no longer needs non-invasive mechanical ventilation, but only high-level oxygen therapy.”
Francis does not have a fever, and spent the afternoon alternating between prayer and rest after participating in Mass Sunday morning alongside those caring for him during his hospital stay.
Given the complex nature of his overall clinical status, doctors have still not released a final prognosis, which remains “guarded.”
Pope Francis, who was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital Feb. 14, has been in stable condition for two days following a bronchial spasm that required him to use a ventilator after ingesting some of his own vomit.
A medical bulletin published by the Vatican Saturday said his blood tests were stable, and he showed no signs of a high white blood cell count.
He was initially admitted for treatment of bronchitis and was later diagnosed with a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia, which is particularly dangerous for Francis, who has underlying chronic respiratory problems and who is missing part of one lung due to a serious bout of pneumonia he experienced as a young man.
Earlier Sunday the Vatican published a pre-prepared text for the pope’s weekly Sunday Angelus address, which he has failed to give for the past three weeks, choosing to publish his written remarks instead.
In this week’s reflection, the pope focused on the day’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus tells his disciples to remove the beam from their own eye before trying to remove the splinter in someone else’s.
Focusing on the image of sight, he said that “only with this gaze of care, not condemnation, can fraternal correction be a virtue. Because if it is not fraternal, it is not correction!”
The pope then pointed to Jesus’s remark that “every tree is known by its fruit,” and said that people themselves are known for their words and actions.
“Rotten fruits are violent, false, vulgar words; good ones are the just and honest words that give flavor to our dialogues,” he said, and urged faithful to question themselves about how they look at other people, and in turn, how they think they are looked at by others.
He acknowledged that he sent his reflections from the hospital, and thanked the doctors and other medical personnel who have been assisting him for the past two weeks.
“I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord; at the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people,” he said.
Pope Francis closed thanking all those who have been praying for him, and offered his own prayer for peace, saying, “From here, war appears even more absurd. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu.”
In addition to other prayers and Masses being offered for the pope, a rosary is said nightly in St. Peter’s Square for his health and intentions. Sunday night’s rosary is set to be led by Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope’s almoner.
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