Pope Francis has cancelled plans to travel to Dubai this weekend for a United Nations climate conference on the advice of his doctors following ongoing health issues, the Vatican announced. Source: NCR Online.
The Pope, who has long prioritised environmental concerns, was scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates on Friday and was expected to urge world leaders to commit to multilateral action toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Vatican said the 86-year-old pontiff was forced to cancel his anticipated appearance at the high-stakes COP28 climate summit in Dubai due to ongoing issues related to the inflammation of his lungs, for which he has been undergoing treatment since at least Saturday.
The announcement that the Pope would no longer make the trip was made last night in Rome, just hours after the Holy See Press Office held a briefing for reporters scheduled to be travelling with the Pope.
At the time, a Vatican spokesman acknowledged the Pope’s health difficulties, but said the pontiff had managed to meet with the president of Paraguay and Spanish Catholic bishops in recent days.
In a brief statement announcing the cancellation, the Vatican said that the Pope’s “general clinical picture” had improved, but on the advice of his doctors, he would cancel the trip with “great regret”.
The Pope had been scheduled to deliver a major address in Dubai on December 2, but in his most recent public remarks on Sunday, the Pope struggled to speak due to apparent respiratory congestion.
The Holy See, which has formally signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, will still have a delegation present during the COP28 meeting, and the Vatican said the Pope is considering other ways he can participate in the upcoming discussions.
FULL STORY
Pope Francis cancels trip to Dubai for UN climate conference (By Christopher White, NCR Online)
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Pope’s participation in COP28 Summit cancelled at doctors’ request (Vatican News)
