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Pope Francis responds to treatment but “Not out of danger yet”
Hospitalized at Gemelli for bilateral pneumonia, the pontiff is alert and joking, but doctors are cautious: “The biggest risk is sepsis.” Time of discharge still uncertain
Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for a week due to bilateral pneumonia, is responding positively to treatment. The pontiff, who is not intubated and maintains spontaneous breathing, has shown signs of improvement, although doctors remain cautious. “He is not out of danger yet,” said Sergio Alfieri, one of the doctors on the team treating the Pope, referring to the risk of possible sepsis should germs pass into the bloodstream.
Bergoglio, 88, is on the 10th floor of the Gemelli and, according to his caregivers, continues to work, occasionally sitting in an armchair, signing documents and cracking jokes with the medical staff. However, his health condition still requires the administration of hospital therapies. “It is not prudent to discharge him now, because if we bring him back to Santa Marta, he would return to full work,” doctors explained, hinting that the pontiff will remain at Gemelli for at least another week.
The main risk remains that germs in the respiratory tract could spread to the bloodstream, causing sepsis, a complication that could be fatal for someone of the Pope’s age and physical condition. For the moment, however, Francis is out of this threat, but his recovery will be gradual.
On the possible return to lead the Angelus, doctors emphasize that the decision will be up to the Pope himself, while the Vatican, through spokesman Matteo Bruni, confirmed that it has not yet been decided whether Francis will be able to lead the Sunday prayer or whether a message will be read on his behalf, as has happened in the past.
Meanwhile, no images of the pontiff have been released. “We respect his privacy and intimacy,” Alfieri said, urging people to use photos of the Pope taken earlier and to avoid speculation or fake news at such a sensitive time.
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(Photo: © AndKronos)
