Pope’s condition still critical, but shows ‘slight improvement’

Originally published in Church Leaders

Doctors said there has been a “slight improvement” in Pope Francis’ condition on Monday after he suffered a respiratory crisis and blood work showed initial signs of kidney failure over the weekend. Despite the promising report, however, the doctors said their prognosis remains guarded.

“The critical clinical conditions of the Holy Father demonstrate a slight improvement,” read a statement by the medical team issued by the Vatican. The pope did not have another episode of asthmatic respiratory crisis, and the laboratory tests have also improved, the statement added.

Francis admitted himself to the hospital on February 14 after suffering from bronchitis for more than a week. At Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where popes are traditionally treated, doctors found that he had a polymicrobial infection that caused pneumonia in both lungs. Medical experts were hopeful that the 88-year-old pontiff would recover, but Francis’ health suffered a reversal on Saturday, when he had a prolonged asthmatic respiratory attack.

Blood tests also found low levels of platelets in the pope’s blood and symptoms of kidney failure, which raised alarms that the infection in his respiratory tract was impacting other vital organs. But on Monday, following observation, doctors said the mild failure of the kidney “is not a cause for concern.”

He has been given oxygen since the respiratory attack, which the doctors said was continuing, “although with slightly reduced flows and percentage of oxygen,” their statement said. Given the pope’s preexisting conditions, including having a portion of his right lung removed when he was a youth in Argentina, the doctors have opted for “prudence” when discussing outcomes.

The statement said Francis received the Eucharist on Monday morning and resumed his work in the afternoon. He also returned to his daily routine of calling the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza, the statement said, “to express his fatherly closeness.”

Thousands of faithful, including patients of the Gemelli Hospital, have communicated their prayers for the pope’s health and recovery during the 10 days of his hospitalization, placing flowers, notes and candles near the statue of his predecessor, St. Pope John Paul II, at the main entrance.

“Us young people are very, very close to Pope Francis for what he did for us, the open-mindedness he brought and the progress he ushered into the church,” said Giuseppe Ciavarella, 21, who studies at Universitá Cattolica medical school, whose campus is at Gemelli Hospital.

“For us who live in the campus of the Cattolica feel as if he were being treated in our home, so we feel like we are close to him in this moment, and we also see how the entire world mobilized to follow his situation,” said Michele Ferrantino, 22, another student.

Dario Russo, 20, who is also a student, said Francis stands as an example. “He taught us to give a lot to others, to be open toward everyone,” he said.

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