Pope Francis has officially canceled his trip scheduled for next Friday to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai on the recommendation of doctors; above, after his recent respiratory illness. The spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, explained in a statement that although the pontiff’s general clinical condition “improves”, doctors have recommended that he not make the planned trip from December 1 to 3 to Dubai. “Pope Francis has accepted this request from the doctors with great regret and the trip has been canceled.”
Pope Francis will not be in Dubai
However, Bruni explained that Pope Francis and the Holy See still wish to participate in the debates in the coming days in Dubai, so “the way” in which an eventual intervention can be carried out will be defined as soon as possible. Francisco, 86, had to undergo a CT scan last Saturday at a hospital in the center of Rome for “lung inflammation” due to a “slight flu” that in recent days has forced him to suspend some of his activities. diary.
The medical examination ruled out the risk of possible pulmonary complications and yesterday the Vatican confirmed that his health is good, without fever, and that his general situation is improving. In fact, today he received the Spanish bishops for more than two hours. The cancellation of his trip to the United Arab Emirates is a last-minute decision given that this morning the Vatican held a press conference to give details of the pope’s participation in COP28.
Bruni explained in his appearance that Francisco would hold nearly 30 meetings with heads of state, religious leaders, and associations during his stay in the United Arab Emirates, being received by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. It was the first time that a pope was going to actively participate in a summit of this type and also the first time that a delegation from the Holy See would actively participate in the negotiations and not only as an “observer”, as occurs in UN summits.
Pope Francis has always expressed his concern about the climate crisis and in fact, has published two texts on this issue, the encyclical “Laudato Si” (2015) and its second part in the form of an apostolic exhortation “Laudate deum” (2023).
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News
