Another peaceful night passed at the Gemelli hospital for Pope Francis, who this morning got up and had breakfast. This was reported by the Vatican press office, which had already specified yesterday that the Pontiff's conditions were "slightly improving".

The stability of the hemodynamic parameters is fundamental, because it means that the heart is holding up well to the therapy it is undergoing . However, it will be necessary to wait a few days to see if there is a substantial improvement in various parameters, also because the treatment can give results a few days later. The Pope, therefore, "continues the treatments and also his work activity".

Vatican sources explain that, in a way obviously compatible with the illness and the hospital stay, as well as with the obligation on the part of doctors to "not take even the slightest draft" , "the activity continues, that is, the reading and signing of documents, telephone conversations or with close collaborators".

The general opinion is that the hospital stay will not last a few days, although at the moment no predictions are made in this regard, pending further clinical evaluations on the results of the therapy. The situation, however, appears more reassuring than when the onset of pneumonia was reported, in an 88-year-old person, who had already undergone surgery on the right lung at the age of 21 with the removal of a lobe.

The Pontiff, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi told Corriere della Sera today, could decide to resign if he has serious health problems. "I think so," explains the former Vatican "Minister of Culture." "If he were to have serious difficulties in carrying out his service, he will make his choice. He will be the one to decide, obviously, perhaps he will ask for advice, but he will evaluate the final word himself, in conscience ."

"Without prejudice - he emphasizes - that his great desire is to complete at least the Jubilee, the Holy Year dedicated to hope that he feels as his great moment ". Pope Francis "even in the difficulties related to age and physical condition has continued to have a unique presence on the planet, as perhaps only John Paul II - Ravasi remarks -. In this sense, the long and demanding journey he made in September to Asia and Oceania is exemplary, despite the wheelchair, despite everything. It was a great lesson, like that of the athletes of the Paralympics. He showed that everything can be done even in fragility".

Now "it is a question of understanding what will happen in the future. Moreover, Francis himself explained that he had already signed a letter of resignation at the beginning of his pontificate, as Paul VI had done", he recalls . In recent days, false rumors about the health of the Pontiff abound. " Especially on the Internet and on American sites, there is a strong anti-Bergoglio current: even if it is never explicit, there is an evident expectation of change that is also expressed through fake news. There is a strong polarization", he concludes.

(Online Union)

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