Catholic Culture, Phil Lawler:
To avoid any misunderstanding let me begin by saying that what follows is not a criticism of Pope Francis. It is a criticism of the Vatican press office.
Last Monday at an audience with the Conference of European Rabbis, Pope Francis did not deliver his prepared speech, explaining that he was not feeling well. That’s perfectly understandable, isn’t it? As he approaches his 87th birthday, we can expect the Pope to make some concessions to his declining health—as he should.
However the Vatican press office, no doubt hoping to ward off speculation about the Pope’s medical condition, rushed out the explanation that the problem was only “a bit of a cold,” and called attention to the fact that the Pontiff kept all the other appointments on his Monday schedule. Report is here.
