As Tokyo readies to welcome thousands of the world’s top athletes later this month for the Olympics, the local archbishop has announced that “regrettably” no Catholic parish will be able to welcome them due to the spread of COVID-19, as the Japanese city is once again in a state of emergency.
Pope Francis offered his prayers and condolences after a fire at in a COVID-19 hospital ward in Iraq left at least 64 people dead.
Pope Francis is set to remain in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital “for a few more days”, following surgery last Sunday for a colon condition, instead of returning to the Vatican today or tomorrow as was originally planned.
Pilgrims and well-wishers gathered at Rome’s Gemelli hospital on July 11 to greet Pope Francis as he made his first public appearance after undergoing intestinal surgery.
Children who are in two of Rome’s largest hospitals — including the one where Pope Francis is recovering from Sunday’s surgery — have sent the pontiff “get well” cards.
Although still hospitalized, Pope Francis has resumed working and celebrated Mass for his caregivers in the small chapel that is part of the suite of rooms reserved for the popes at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican press office said July 9.
Recovering from colon surgery, Pope Francis briefly ran a fever late July 7, leading his doctors to perform a CT scan of his abdomen and chest the next morning to check for signs of infection.
Leaders in the Diocese of Brooklyn released a statement on July 8 about the situation in Haiti. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Guy Sansaricq are praying for calm and peace in Haiti during “this difficult time” of uncertainty.
The Fourth World Meeting of Popular Movements will bring together activists from the most marginalized communities of society in the most visible example of the “popularism” the pontiff has proposed to counter the populism that has been sweeping many nations around the world.
The organization of the universal Catholic Church has a precise hierarchy, but there is no such thing as a “vice pope,” who steps in when the reigning pontiff is traveling abroad, ill or under anesthesia.
