ROME (AP) 鈥� Pope Francis is suffering from a cold and will deliver his Sunday blessing from indoors, the Vatican said, announcing the precautions ahead of a busy Christmas period and launch of the Holy Year that will sorely test Francis' stamina and health.
The Vatican cited the cold temperatures outside and Francis' strenuous week ahead, after a wheezing and congested-sounding pope delivered his annual Christmas greeting to Vatican bureaucrats earlier Saturday.
Francis, who turned 88 this past week, on Tuesday is due to inaugurate his big Holy Year and preside over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations in St. Peter's Basilica. On Thursday, he is scheduled to travel to Rome's main prison to inaugurate the Jubilee there.
Francis has long suffered bouts of bronchitis, especially in winter. In 2023, he ended up the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics. He had part of one lung removed as a young man and frequently seems out of breath, especially after walking or exerting himself.
Criticism of gossip
He took several minutes to catch his breath on Saturday, when he delivered his annual Christmas greetings to Vatican bureaucrats and lay employees. Once again, he used the occasion to and gossiping among his closest collaborators and urge them instead to speak well of one another.
鈥淎 church community lives in joyful and fraternal harmony to the extent that its members walk in the life of humility, renouncing evil thinking and speaking ill of others,鈥� Francis said. 鈥淕ossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people鈥檚 hearts and leads to nothing. The people say it very well: Gossip is zero.鈥�
鈥淏eware of this,鈥� he added.
By now Francis鈥� annual Christmas address to the priests, bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility -鈥� -- as Francis offers a public dressing down of some of the sins in the workplace at the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
In the most biting edition, in 2014, Francis listed the in which he accused the prelates of using their Vatican careers to grab power and wealth. He accused them of living 鈥渉ypocritical鈥� double lives and forgetting 鈥� due to 鈥渟piritual Alzheimer鈥檚鈥� 鈥� that they鈥檙e supposed to be joyful men of God.
In 2022, Francis warned them that the devil lurks among them, saying it is an that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith.
This year, Francis revisited a theme he has often warned about: gossiping and speaking ill of people behind their backs. It was a reference to the in closed environments such as the Vatican or workplaces where office gossip and criticism circulate but are rarely aired in public.
Francis has long welcomed frank and open debates and even has welcomed criticism of his own work. But he has urged critics to , and not behind his back.
Francis opened his address Saturday with a reminder of the devastation of the war in Gaza, where he said even his patriarch had been unable to enter due to Israeli bombing.
"Yesterday children have been bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war," he said.
The annual appointment kicks off Francis鈥� busy Christmas schedule, this year made even more strenuous because of the start of the on Christmas Eve. The Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome over 2025, and Francis has a dizzying calendar of events to minister to them.
A gentler message for lay employees
After addressing the Vatican prelates, Francis issued a less critical address to the Vatican鈥檚 lay employees who gathered in the city state's main audience hall along with their families. Francis thanked them for their service and urged them to make sure they take time to play with their children and visit grandparents.
鈥淚f you have any particular problems, tell your bosses, we want to resolve them,鈥� he added at the end. 鈥淵ou do this with dialogue, not by keeping quiet. Together we鈥檒l try to resolve the difficulties.鈥�
It was an apparent reference to within the Vatican workforce that has been called out by the Association of Vatican Lay Employees, the closest thing the Vatican has to a labor union. The association has in recent months voiced alarm about the health of the Vatican pension system and fears of even more cost-cutting, and demanded the Vatican leadership listen to workers鈥� concerns.
Earlier this year in the Vatican tribunal complaining about labor woes, overtime and working conditions.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
