By NICOLE WINFIELD
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis followed the Vatican’s weeklong spiritual retreat via videoconference on Monday as he continued his recovery from double pneumonia and looked ahead to the 12th anniversary of his election amid questions about what the future of his papacy might look like.
As he did on Sunday, Francis participated in the retreat remotely from the Rome hospital where he is being treated. He could see and hear the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals gathered for the retreat in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.
Pasolini is delivering a series of meditations this week on “The hope of eternal life,” a theme that was chosen well before Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection.
The retreat, which is an annual gathering that kicks off the Catholic Church’s solemn Lenten season leading to Easter, continues through the week. The Vatican has said Francis would participate “in spiritual communion” with the rest of the hierarchy, from afar.
In its early update Monday, the Vatican said Francis was resuming his physical and respiratory therapy at the Gemelli hospital after a quiet night. Francis has been using a nasal tube for supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was just a bad case of bronchitis when he was hospitalized last month. The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.
In a sign Francis was still keeping his eye on things, the Vatican said he had been informed about the floods in his native Argentina and expressed his closeness to the affected population. In addition, a Vatican cardinal close to Francis spoke out Monday to refute some negative media reports that have circulated in his absence.
The Vatican development office released a letter written by Cardinal Michael Czerny to one of Francis’ close friends, the Argentine social justice activist Juan Grabois. Grabois had travelled to Rome to pray for Francis at Gemelli hospital, and some Italian media reported last month that he had tried to forcibly get into Francis’ 10th floor hospital suite, a claim he denied.
In the March 6 letter, Czerny told Grabois that Francis “knew of your presence in Rome and your daily vigils of prayer and spiritual solidarity at Gemelli Polyclinic and I’m sure this gave him a true comfort and support.”
“Additionally, I know that you join me in strongly repudiating the unfounded versions that have circulated in some media about alleged inappropriate behavior in the hospital,” Czerny wrote.
The Vatican is always abuzz with rumor but has gone into overdrive with speculation about Francis’ health and talk of conclaves, even though Francis is very much alive and in charge. The fact that Czerny felt it necessary to defend one of Francis’ friends suggested that the rumor and maneuvering in Francis’ absence had crossed a line.
Francis has now remained in stable condition for over a week, with no fever, respiratory crises and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported.
The doctors said that such stability was in itself a positive thing and showed he was responding well to therapy. But they kept his prognosis as “guarded,” meaning he’s not out of danger. Doctors were expected to provide a medical update later Monday.
On Thursday, the Vatican will mark the 12th anniversary of Francis’ election, the first with the pope out of sight but still in charge. Francis was elected the 266th pope, the first Jesuit pope and first from Latin America on March 13, 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
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