Full transcript
0:01This is news that no one expected . Leo
0:06XV personally announced that doctors
0:08found a nodule on his lungs and that he
0:10will undergo surgery immediately to
0:12remove it . The timing of the procedure
0:16is particularly striking . One of the
0:19most important meetings of the
0:20Episcopate is currently underway in the
0:23Vatican , one of the key events of Leo
0:25XIV's entire pontificate . And yet , the
0:28Pope will have to undergo surgery . A
0:35nodule was detected in Leo XIV's lung .
0:38According to the Holy See , the lesion
0:41is small , well-defined , and was
0:43detected at a very early stage .
0:46Nevertheless , the Pope informed
0:48everyone that doctors recommended its
0:50surgical removal within the coming days
0:52. And when journalists later asked what
0:56exactly " the coming days " meant , he
0:58said at the beginning of next week , so
1:01perhaps tomorrow or the day after .
1:04What’s more , Leo XIV informed the
1:06faithful about this nodule himself just
1:09a moment ago , literally just now after
1:11the Angelus prayer . " Doctors believe it
1:14is necessary to intervene , so following
1:16their advice , I have decided to undergo
1:19surgery to remove it . " The procedure is
1:21already scheduled for the coming days .
1:23That is a verbatim quote from Pope Leo
1:25XIV . According to information later
1:29provided by the Vatican press office ,
1:31the recovery is expected to take about
1:33a week , which is roughly how long the
1:35Pope will be in the hospital . But the
1:38Holy See has not yet provided any
1:40further details regarding the nature of
1:42the lesion or the surgery itself .
1:45However , I know , because I have already
1:47asked Vatican expert friends on the
1:49ground , that there were not even any
1:51rumors about this in the Vatican . Until
1:54now , everyone lived under the
1:55conviction that the Pope's health was
1:57excellent . This information is truly
2:00completely unexpected . This is the
2:04first major news regarding the health
2:06of 71 - year-old Leo XIV since the
2:08beginning of his pontificate . So far ,
2:11the Pope has had no publicly known
2:14serious health problems and has been
2:16physically active . I have told you many
2:18times myself that as a cardinal he went
2:20to the gym regularly and even now still
2:23plays tennis regularly . But now we must
2:27also be careful , because in reports
2:29appearing in the media , I have read
2:31that this is a malignant tumor or
2:32cancer . However , I would like to say
2:36very clearly that at the current stage ,
2:38there is no such information . The term
2:42used by the Pope and Vatican media is "
2:45nodulo , " which means a nodule . There is
2:49no result of any biopsy or
2:51histopathological examination . It has
2:53not been reported whether doctors
2:55identified the lesion as malignant or
2:57benign . We know nothing about this and
2:59we should not speculate on it . However ,
3:03I asked doctor friends and they told me
3:05that pulmonary nodules are a relatively
3:08common finding in imaging tests and
3:09that most of them do not turn out to be
3:12cancer . They can be , for example , a
3:15residue from infections or a scar-like
3:17change . However , if the lesion's
3:22appearance raises greater suspicion or
3:24its location makes a safe biopsy
3:26difficult , then doctors may decide on
3:28surgical removal , in which case the
3:31procedure is not only therapeutic but
3:33also diagnostic . Therefore , we should
3:38not conclude from the mere fact of the
3:40operation that we are dealing with
3:42cancer , even though I already see that
3:44in the media , especially on social
3:46media . That is just looking for cheap
3:49sensationalism , which in my opinion is
3:51completely inappropriate right now . But
3:56of course , that also doesn't mean we
3:58should trivialize the doctors ' decision
4:00, because if they chose surgery
4:02immediately for a small , incidentally
4:04discovered lesion instead of
4:06observation or a follow-up CT scan , it
4:08means at least that the doctors
4:10consider removal to be the right
4:12solution , better than waiting further .
4:17But we do not know why , because the
4:20Vatican has not provided the size of
4:22the lesion , the location of the images ,
4:24the tomography , or information about a
4:26biopsy , things of that nature . We know
4:31nothing about it . And without this data
4:33, it is impossible to reliably assess
4:35the nature of the lesion . I think the
4:38most reassuring element of the
4:40announcement is the words of the Pope
4:42himself , who said that the lesion was
4:44detected at a very early stage . and is
4:47well-localized . But I will not pretend
4:51that I am not worried , because it does
4:53worry me , as there is one element that
4:55really stands out , and that is the
4:57timing of this operation . And yes , that
5:00worries me very , very much . I will not
5:03hide it in any way , because from
5:05October 7th to 14th , a meeting of the
5:07heads of Catholic and Eastern churches
5:09and episcopates from all over the world
5:12, convened by Leo XIV , is taking place
5:14at the Vatican . As you know , the topic
5:17is the future directions of family
5:19pastoral care and the reinterpretation
5:21of Amoris Laetitia . I have spoken about
5:24this on this channel many times . This
5:26is not an ordinary conference from
5:28which the Pope could disappear for a
5:30few days without much significance . It
5:33has been planned for over half a year .
5:36Leo X personally announced that such a
5:38conference would take place . He was
5:40looking forward to it and was very
5:42strongly involved in it . As I say ,
5:44there are bishops from all over the
5:46world here in Rome . This is not some
5:48trivial meeting that can be canceled .
5:51And what is more , according to the
5:53official program , Leo XV was to
5:55personally preside over the Holy Mass
5:57closing the meeting in St. Peter's
5:59Square on October 14th . Meanwhile ,
6:03three days earlier , the Pope announces
6:05that the operation will take place in
6:07the coming days . It was later clarified
6:11that it would be at the beginning of
6:13the week , so it is very , very doubtful
6:15that the Pope will actually preside
6:17over that mass or continue to
6:19participate in subsequent meetings .
6:23While , as I have already told you , the
6:25most important one dedicated to Holy
6:28Communion for divorced persons living
6:30in new unions is to take place tomorrow
6:32. So in practice , this means that the
6:36Pope will undergo surgery while the
6:38assembly of bishops he himself convened
6:41is still ongoing . Does this mean a
6:44sudden state of emergency ? As I said ,
6:47medically and according to what the
6:49Holy See tells us , there are no grounds
6:51to claim that , but I think it would be
6:53equally unjustified to say that the
6:55timing of the surgery means nothing . I
7:00think it is safe and cautious to say
7:02that if we look at the choice of date ,
7:04the doctors clearly see no benefit in
7:06postponing the procedure , but it cannot
7:08be said that the lesion is aggressive
7:10or that the situation is critical . We
7:14simply do not have that information .
7:17And why not wait a few days ? Well , that
7:21question remains valid nonetheless , but
7:23we do not know the answer and we should
7:25wait for the Pope or the Holy See to
7:27answer it themselves . Maybe it doesn't
7:32have to be a question of the Pope's
7:33health itself . It could stem from a
7:36medical assessment of the nodule . It
7:38could be about the availability of the
7:40surgical team , although it is hard for
7:42me to imagine any surgeon in the world
7:44saying they don't have time for the
7:46Pope's surgery . But it could also be
7:49due to the Pope's very busy schedule
7:52later on , and the need for the recovery
7:54to happen quickly enough , because as
7:56early as November 6th , that is in less
7:59than four weeks , Leo XV is to begin an
8:0111 - day apostolic journey to Uruguay ,
8:04Argentina , and Peru , and the program
8:06there includes 10 cities , numerous
8:08flights , masses , and meetings . The trip
8:13is not scheduled to end until November
8:1517th , so surgery performed now would
8:17leave the Pope about three weeks
8:19between his expected discharge from the
8:21hospital and the start of the trip . But
8:26the truth is also that at this moment ,
8:28it is not yet known whether this
8:29operation will affect that November
8:31pilgrimage to Latin America . We will
8:34have to wait and see about that as well
8:36. So what can we honestly say today ? We
8:41have a few hard facts . Leo XV has a
8:44nodule in his lung . It was detected
8:46during recent examinations , and at
8:48least among the Vatican journalists , no
8:50one expected it , meaning it hadn't been
8:53mentioned before . According to the
8:55Pope's own words , the lesion was found
8:57very early and is well-defined . Doctors
9:01have recommended surgical removal , and
9:03the procedure will take place early
9:05next week . Recovery will take about a
9:09week . The timing is indeed unusual . Leo
9:13XIV decided on the surgery just as the
9:15presidents of bishops ' conferences from
9:18around the world gathered in Rome . But
9:20that is not proof of an emergency . It
9:23is , however , a rational premise to
9:25believe that the doctors treated the
9:27matter seriously enough that they did
9:29not recommend postponing the procedure
9:31due to the Pope's calendar . And what is
9:34left for us to do ? To act as Catholics ,
9:38which means praying for the health of
9:40our Holy Father . And finally , I would
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