The Holy Father gave a poignant reference to Ukraine following US President Donald Trump’s bust-up with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during his weekly Sunday message
Pope Francis has said in a Sunday message how war in Ukraine seems “even more absurd” from a hospital bed.
The Pope had a peaceful night and is today resting after a bronchial spasm caused him to inhale vomit on Friday, sparking fresh fears for his health after two days of positive updates in his battle with pneumonia. He said in a message that he shares the suffering of all sick people and prayed again for peace across the world.
In the message, shared by The Vatican, he also thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers. And in a poignant reference to Ukraine following US President Donald Trump ’s bust-up with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in The Oval office, the Holy Father said: “From here, war appears even more absurd,” he said, adding: “Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu.”
He added that his time in hospital was a moment of deep solidarity with those who are sick and suffering worldwide. “I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” he said. “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”
It was the third consecutive weekend that Francis had missed delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer in person. He has no fever or signs of elevated white blood cells, which would signal his body was still fighting an infection. Doctors on Saturday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no mention of him being critical.
This is his fourth hospitalisation since his 2013 election, raising concerns about his increasingly fragile health. Prayers continued for Francis outside the Gemelli Hospital, where he has been treated in the Papal Suite on its 10th floor since February 14.
