Luis Badilla, editor of the semi-official Vatican news aggregator Il Sismografo, said that Pope Francis’ health situation is “severe” and when he returns from hospital he “will never be the same again.” In his sobering blog post, Badilla declares that journalists and commentators are not doing the pope any favours when they downplay the seriousness of his illness.
There is a very significant detail that many “underestimate, ignore, or manipulate,” he writes, namely that “the disease that has affected Pope Francis is severe and degenerative” and “could also be chronic.” “The Holy Father will certainly return to the Vatican to resume his path in the footsteps of Peter but he will never be the same again,” Badilla insists. “All the rhetoric about a Jorge Mario Bergoglio ‘superman’ damages his image and charisma.” In his post, Badilla notes several details of the pope’s recent surgical operation to treat his diverticulitis that give cause for concern. As cited by numerous authoritative press sources, on Sunday evening the pope underwent general anesthesia and was administered powerful sedatives, Badilla observes, after which he was “subjected to laparoscopic surgery (almost a sort of scouring of the lower part of the abdominal cavity, with small, very sophisticated probes) and immediately afterwards to an ‘open’ or ‘open sky’ surgical intervention to allow hands-on work with full visibility.”