There is a first time for everything.
But the phrase « copious secretions » in a Official Vatican update To Pope Francis? This level of detail can be surprising even for those who are not aware of how taboo It was considered to openly discuss the Pope’s health.
As the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, the Pope is a worshiped spiritual figure. Talking about his earthly health was profane.
« Reducing the pope’s health problems is part of a great Vatican tradition. It is often said in Rome that » the Pope is in good health until he dies, and maybe even a little later, « he said Outlet of French Catholic Media Lacroix International in March 2023During another of Francis’s hospitalizations.
But in a Update MondayThe Vatican Press Office wrote: « Today the Holy Father had two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronquial mucus and consequent bronchospasm.
« Therefore, two bronchoscopies were performed, with the need for aspiration of copious secretions. »
Next, weeks of similar and daily updates are made that the Pope has fought against double pneumonia at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome since February 14. The Press Office has shared when the pope had fever, like his The kidneys worked and their white blood number. It has provided details such as the use of the large -flow oxygen pontiff and its need for blood transfusions.
« These are very specific details that we would never have had in the past, » said David Perlich, a CBC Vatican analyst who has been dealing with the subject for the last 25 years.
« I was surprised by the level of candor and the level of detail. »
So why change?
Dr. Samir Gupta breaks down the last Vatican update on Pope Francis’ health, as he fights against double pneumonia.
A new transparency
Perlich, Perlich explained, explained Perlich.
Historically, the Vatican has worked much more opaque, says the New York Timeswith a tendency to openness. For example, the stomach cancer affected by Pope John XXIII for at least eight months only revealed much after his death in 1963.
And Pope John Paul II, the papacy that lasted from 1978 to 2005, had visible tremors for years before the Vatican finally confirmed in 2003 that he had Parkinson’s disease. On February 25, 2005, the morning after John Paul II surgery For a tracheotomy, the Vatican published a statement that was breathing and eating well, and enjoyed a breakfast that included 10 Biscotti. He died just over a month later.
« The Vatican is doing a very delicate balance with the pope’s health information, » said Perlich.
« On the one hand, they want to respect the privacy and dignity of an elderly man who is in the hospital and is very, very ill. On the other side, there is a recognition that, as a leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics in the world and a world -famous person, people are necessarily curious about the pope’s health. »
Information in the age of misinformation
And if you do not publish accurate information, get rumors and speculation, Perlich said.
When Francis was first hospitalized, all kinds of reports, certain and not – Francis’s health abounded. They would have taken a life in an age of chat groups, theories of conspiracy and memes of the Internet, not to mention the perennial Roman fixation to the pope and could be successful.
On February 21, CRUX Catholic News website He reported that several major pope assistants were hitting the rumors of Francis’s death or resignation, passing on Italian television to ensure people who « say things are exactly what is happening. »
Perlich said that this transparency about his health offers Francis more dignity in a difficult situation, he said Perlich, even to the information on his « secretions » (which Perlich suggests that it is really more than an Italian translation problem).
« There is much more dignity that is given to his illness and an 88 -year -old man very ill because they share information. The cruelty of gossip and speculation is not there. »
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