Pope Francis suffers from a new breathing crisis, back to ventilation: Vatican-Nation
The Vatican said Pope Francis suffered two new acute respiratory crises on Monday and was re-incubated with noninvasive mechanical ventilation, another setback in his battle with pneumonia.
During two bronchoscopy, the doctor extracted a “large amount” of mucus from the lungs, where the camera placed the tube into the airway with a suction cup, which drew the liquid on the tip. The Vatican said mucus is the body's response to a primitive pneumonia infection, not a new infection, given that laboratory tests have not shown any new bacteria.
Francis stayed alert, directed and worked with medical staff. The prognosis is still protected. The doctors did not say whether he was in steady state, although they mentioned the crisis in the past, which indicated that they were over.
The crisis is a new setback, and the 88-year-old pope has had chronic lung disease and eliminated a two-week battle in part of his lungs to overcome complex respiratory infections.
The Vatican said the plots were caused by a “large accumulation of mucus” in his lungs and bronchospasm. The Vatican said “a large amount of secretion” was extracted during the bronchoscope and the pope was put back on the non-invasive mechanical ventilation, covering his nose and mouth and pumping oxygen into the lungs.
Since entering the hospital on February 14, the Vatican has not posted any photos or videos. This has become his longest absence for the pope of 12 years.
Get national news
For news that affects Canada and around the world, please sign up for breaking news alerts that were sent directly to you at the time.
The Vatican defended Francis' decision to recover in peace and public eyes. But on Monday, one of Francis' closest friends in the Vatican, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia urged him to hear his voice, saying the world needs to hear it.
“We need people like him who are really universal, not just one-sided,” Pagria spoke at a press conference, launching his annual conference of the School of Religious Life, the Vatican School of Bioethics, which has a theme of “Apocalypse?”
Francis wrote a message to parliament, lamenting that international organizations are increasingly effective in responding to the threats facing the world and undermined by “short-sighted attitudes related to the protection of specific and national interests.” It was dated February 26 and signed “From Gemelli Polyclinic”.
Doctors often use noninvasive ventilation to avoid intubation or invasive mechanical ventilation. During the hospitalization period, Francis has not been intubated. It is unclear whether he has provided any advance instructions on the limitations of his concern, namely his refusal or loss of consciousness.
Catholic teaching believes that life must be defended until natural death. It insists that patients with chronic diseases, including those in plant states, must receive “ordinary” care, such as hydration and nutrition, but can suspend “extraordinary” or disproportionate care if it is no longer beneficial or only prolongs pre-critical and painful life.
Francis clarified that at a meeting of the Bioethics Agency in Paglia in 2017, “there is no obligation to have a right of recourse under any circumstances”. “So, this may be morally qualified as a decision to “over-crazy treatment”” he added.
Paglia's office helps to shed light on the Catholic Church's position in end-of-life care, saying Francis is like any other Catholic, if so.
“Today, the Pope gave us an extraordinary teaching on vulnerability,” he added. “Today, the Pope reminds us not by words but by his body, not by words, but by his body that we are all vulnerable at the beginning, so we need to take care of each other.”
Francis' 17-night hospitalization was by no means a papal record set by St. John Paul II during a long hospitalization of a quarter-century.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
