VATICAN (SE): “As you see, I am alive,” Pope Francis said at a private audience with the participants of a seminar on Ethics in Health Management, on the morning of November 30. A few days earlier, on November 26, he did not recite the Sunday Angelus, though he participated, and his agenda was toned down somewhat.
“The doctor would not let me go to Abu Dhabi, Dubai. The reason is that it’s very hot there, and you go from heat to air conditioning. And this, with this bronchial condition [is not convenient].” Pope Francis explained, Zenit reported on November 30.
”Thank God it wasn’t pneumonia. It’s a very acute, infectious bronchitis. I no longer have fever, but I’m still on antibiotics and things like that,” he added.
Given that those present at the audience were professionals in health care management, the Holy Father continued: “Taking care of your health, health has a kind of opposite, it is strong and fragile. One is as strong as his health, how it holds up, but it is also fragile. And, poorly cared for, health gives way to fragility. I like preventive medicine very much, because it prevents events before they happen. I thank you for what you do. Not only looking for medical, pharmacological solutions, but also caring for health, that is, thinking about the good of health, and how to preserve that good. Not only to cure, but to preserve.”
The audience ended with the Pope Francis words of gratitude and a personal greeting: “I thank you for coming, and forgive me for not being able to talk any more, but I don’t have the energy. So, what I would like to do is to greet you, so, if we make it quick, come one by one, come closer. Forgive me if I remain seated and greet you, one by one.”
