Is the world being misled on the health of the Pope?

The elusive health of Pope Francis

“Pope Francis is dying. It is a matter of days or weeks; at most, a few months.” This is the information that has been circulating in the Roman Curia for a long time. The severity of his disease is an open secret and has already been discussed in various places. As Specola rightly says, more essential than ever these days, "Popes enjoy good health up to three days after death."

What could be considered no more than a rumor that emerged from the obscure anti-Bergoglian factories, becomes important due to the sudden discomfort suffered yesterday that forced him to be admitted to the Gemelli hospital. In addition, he would already have prepared the schedule for the Holy Week celebrations without his presence: the cardinal would preside over Palm Sunday and the Easter Vigil; the Chrism Mass, Cardinal De Donatis and Gambetti, the celebration of Good Friday. Faced with this news, the immediate thing for every good Christian is to pray that God strengthen the Holy Father in the pain of illness and, when the case arises, at the time of his death.

We, who do not know if we will be alive when he dies, can allow ourselves some further reflections. And the most obvious is the astonishing inability of the Holy See's press team to handle situations of this type. As can be easily traced in any information media, it was officially said first that the hospitalisation was due to scheduled health checks, then that it was a heart condition and then a respiratory problem, that is, pneumonia (curiously, minutes before the Pope spoke in the general audience without symptoms of fever, without coughing, without clearing his throat... a very rare pneumonia). They have been walking poor Francisco through a whole catalog of nosology. And the worst thing is that, according to comments in reserved circles, the problem is another: intestinal obstruction, which, by the way, is foreseeable for the terminal stage of his disease. Not to complain, because when they get recommended and panied in government positions, that's what you get. And worst of all, the limited abilities of the leaders of the Holy See's Press Room are equivalent to the abilities of a good part of the leaders of the main government offices of the Church. Any resemblance to Peronist practices is, of course, purely coincidental.

When Pope Francis dies, because he will die, he will die like any son of Adam, a Conclave will come. And there is a piece of information that was released last week and which, in my opinion, was not sufficiently exploited by analysts, and which is now of particular importance. On March 23, the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Union (COMECE), which would become the European Episcopal Conference, elected Bishop Mariano Crociata, Bishop of Latina, as its new President. What is interesting is that this Italian bishop succeeds the progressive, Bergoglian and Jesuit Cardinal Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg. The reception of the new President was not well received in Santa Marta, and rightly so. Bishop Crociata had been appointed secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference by Pope Benedict XVI, which was the step prior to the cardinalate. Bergoglio, dismissed him and left him as his sole charge the care of his modest headquarters. He is also a close friend of Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, another of the cardinals hated by the Argentine pontiff. In short, Crociata is a Ratzingerian of the first hour. Not only does the United States Conference of Bishops appoint conservatives to its leadership, contrary to the pontifical wishes, which creates cardinals for progressive bishops, but the rebellion is taking place in Europe itself.

I think the data is not minor. Even in very progressive environments such as the European episcopate in general terms, the Bergoglians are being displaced to place conservative bishops in leadership positions. Perhaps this is—and I believe it will be—the trend of the next conclave. Institutions have a survival instinct.

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Cathcon: This would also explain Cardinal Roche's suddenly resolute action with respect to the German church