Published: Less than 20 min ago
In recent years, Pope Francis has been plagued with a series of health problems.
Now he has been operated on again. This time for a hernia in the abdomen.
The hospital stay has raised concerns within the Vatican about who will lead in the absence of the Catholic Church’s sovereignty.
For the second time in two years, Pope Francis, 86, has undergone extensive stomach surgery.
This time he has had surgery for a hernia in his abdomen and will be hospitalized for several days.
All the Pope’s audiences are therefore canceled until June 18.
– The Holy Father responded well to both the operation and the anesthesia. He is already awake and has already joked, says doctor Sergio Alfieri at a press conference, TT reports.
Long medical history
The Pope has previously had to cancel several church commitments due to his declining health.
Last March, he was hospitalized for three days due to chest pains and bronchial catarrh.
Before that, he operated to remove around 30 centimeters of the colon after an inflammation.
He also reportedly suffers from chronic knee pain, which means that he sometimes gets around in a wheelchair.
And already as a 21-year-old Franciskus underwent an operation in 1957 where one of his lungs was removed.
Concerns within the Church – the Pope sensitive to anesthesia
Concerns about the latest stomach surgery have echoed through the Catholic Church, reports BMTV.
Partly because of Pope Francis’ medical history, but also because he was previously stated to be sensitive to anesthesia – with which he was put to sleep during the three-hour operation on Wednesday afternoon.
Thus, the question of who will lead the Catholic Church if the Pope is unable due to illness has also been raised again.
The established rule is that power is only handed over when a pope dies.
Then a camerlengo leads temporarily until a successor pope is appointed by the cardinals.
But according to a canonist, an expert within the church that the channel spoke to, there is nothing in the statutes about what happens if the pope ends up in hospital for a longer period of time.
– The Pope remains the Pope even in the hospital, says the canonist.