The tragedy in the Gaza Strip cannot be justified with the argument that it was an act of Israeli self-defense, said, this Tuesday (21), the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov
Pope Francis prayed the Sunday Angelus in the chapel of his residence in the Vatican and not on the balcony of the Apostolic Palace in St. Peter’s Square, as usual, due to the flu that forced him to cancel his Saturday schedule. “At 12:00, Pope Francis recited the Angelus via connection from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta.
The prayer will be broadcast live on television and on screens in St. Peter’s Square,” the Holy See said in a statement. On Saturday, the Vatican announced that the pontiff’s schedule for that day had been canceled due to the Pope’s “slight flu-like condition”.
“The Holy Father’s audiences scheduled for this morning were canceled due to a mild case of flu,” the Holy See said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile, Francis carried out a CT scan (computerized tomography) to rule out the risk of pulmonary complications at the Gemelli Isola hospital in Rome: “The test was negative and the Pope returned to Casa Santa Marta”, informed the Vatican.
On Saturday, the Pope had scheduled a meeting with the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, which was cancelled, but his commitments for the next few days remain on the agenda, including the trip to Dubai, on Friday, 1st of December, to the COP 28 summit on climate change.
On Tuesday, Francis is also scheduled to participate in the meeting of bishops of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, at the Dicastery for the Clergy, in the Vatican, and, one day earlier, on Monday, the reception in audience of the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
On November 6th, Francisco himself explained, in a tired voice, that he was not in good health and that he preferred not to read the speech he had prepared to receive the European rabbis, but he did not interrupt the activities then planned on his agenda. “Good morning, I greet everyone and welcome you.
I am grateful for this visit, which pleases me so much, but I am not in good health and, therefore, I prefer not to read the speech, but to hand it over for them to take away”, said the Pope, in a tired and somewhat hoarse voice.
Later that same day, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni clarified that the Pope was “a little cold”, but that his activities would continue normally.