Pope Francis receives intravenous antibiotics for lung issue

The pope told visitors on Sunday during a televised address to St. Peter’s Square that he could not deliver his weekly address there in person because of lung inflammation. The Vatican said he does not have a fever or pneumonia. Francis said he still planned to travel to the United Arab Emirates this week for the COP28 climate change summit.

Is this health issue serious? The Vatican has said some of his appointments have been rescheduled so he can recover. Pope Francis did have part of a lung removed when he was a young man in Argentina. Earlier this year, he underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia and recovered in the hospital for nine days.

Dig deeper: Read Hunter Baker’s column in WORLD Opinions about Pope Francis’ recent rhetoric on same-sex marriage.