By Verghese V Joseph.
Doctors concerned about Pope Francis’s recent flu-like symptoms have advised him to cancel his planned trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate talks, the Vatican announced. The 86-year-old, who has prioritized environmental preservation throughout his ten-year pontificate, had intended to make history by being the first pope to attend a UN gathering since the procedure’s inception in 1995.
Francis’s withdrawal from the conference, which kicks off on Thursday, means that COP28 will be without a well-known environmentalist and a moral figure whose words were acknowledged internationally and whose advice some thought could spur leaders to take decisive action. He canceled events on Saturday because of what the Vatican described as “light flu symptoms.” A CT scan had ruled out “risks of pulmonary complications,” according to the statement. Rather than standing outside looking out over St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the pope was made to perform the customary Angelus prayer from his home.
“Although the Holy Father’s general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai,” stated a statement released by Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni on Tuesday.
“Pope Francis accepted the doctors’ request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled.” Bruni continued, saying he still wanted to be involved in talks in Dubai, but he did not say how. A few hours before, he had announced to a briefing that the pope would be there. Francis, who will turn 87 this month, has experienced a number of medical problems recently, including hip and knee pain, an inflammatory colon, and, most recently, hernia surgery in June. However, according to Bruni, the pope will conduct his weekly audience on Wednesday morning as scheduled.
Leading 1.3 billion Catholics, over half of whom reside in developing nations, Pope Francis has long maintained that poverty and climate change are related, with the most vulnerable people in the world bearing the brunt of global warming. The pope was anticipated to use his platform in Dubai to criticize nations for their inaction on climate change and try to convince them to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.