The Supreme Pontiff is still recovering from his lung surgery.
By Catholics for Catholics
Pope Leo’s arranged trip to Assisi next week was canceled, after doctors counseled against the helicopter excursion to the Italian town as he recuperates from thoracic surgery, the Vatican said Friday.
The Holy Father, 71, had been scheduled to make it to the event on Tuesday, which is the 40th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Leo was counseled not to travel “to facilitate his recovery” from the surgery to treat his lung cancer last week. Instead, the Supreme Pontiff will send a message to organizers, Christian and other religious leaders, and guests attending the event, titled “Disarmed and Disarming Peace,” according to a story by Newsmax.
In a different statement, the pope’s doctors said a follow-up chest X-ray confirmed he was getting better. Still, because of the short time that has passed since the operation, they recommended as a preventive measure that he not make the trip to Assisi by helicopter.
Nevertheless, the Vatican added that the Pope wanted to show his closeness to participants and reaffirm his belief that the “spirit of Assisi,” dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace remain valuable resources at a time of conflict.
The Assisi meeting commemorates the landmark interfaith peace gathering convened by St. John Paul II in 1986.
In his public appearances since going back to the Vatican, Leo seemed in good health, speaking with a strong and sharp voice.
The Assisi withdrawal is the latest change to Leo’s program since he had part of one lung removed last week in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.
Still, Leo will need no further treatment for lung cancer after tests confirmed the disease was localized, the Vatican said Wednesday.
