kabarsula Vatican says Pope Leo XIV walking in his hospital room, recovering as expected after lung cancer surgery bandar SLOT INDONESIA

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV is recovering as expected after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, the Vatican said Oct. 14, as U.S. Catholic leaders and longtime friends of the pope expressed concern for his health but confidence that his illness would not deter him from carrying out his mission.

Pope Leo underwent surgery Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after medical tests detected a suspicious growth that was later confirmed to be cancerous. The removed tissue was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that develops in specialized glandular cells.

His first night in the hospital passed peacefully, and doctors conducted blood tests and a chest X-ray as scheduled on his first day of recovery, according to Vatican communiques released Oct. 14.

“The results confirm a normal post-operative course: the values are within the expected range for the type of procedure performed,” the Vatican said in an afternoon announcement relaying the doctors’ findings.

The pope also began respiratory therapy, walked around his hospital room and ate, the Vatican said.

Augustinian Father John Lydon, a longtime friend of Pope Leo, told Catholic News Service Oct. 14 that he was concerned for the pope’s health but had confidence in his doctors and was praying that chemotherapy would not be necessary.

Father Lydon, who served as a missionary in Peru for 10 years alongside the pope, was in Rome for Villanova University’s International Sustainability Conference as director of the university’s Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration.

He said the diagnosis would not change the convictions that guide Pope Leo’s leadership, particularly his commitment to the poor and to synodality, a process of listening and dialogue within the Church.

“I think all those things are kind of part of who he is, and I don’t think any medical issue changes that,” Father Lydon said Oct. 14. “We’re hopeful that the medical thing will just quickly be pushed aside, but concerned, obviously.”

Augustinian Father Peter Donohue, president of Villanova University, also told CNS during the conference that he did not expect Pope Leo’s medical condition to diminish his determination to pursue his priorities.

“Knowing what he’s like, I don’t think they’ll stop him,” Father Donohue said.

Recalling Pope Leo’s years as prior general of the Augustinian order, Father Donohue described a leader who remained composed even when confronting disagreements or difficult decisions.

He said the pope was not afraid to speak out when he believed something was wrong and needed to be corrected, but he never appeared rattled.

“I don’t think this is going to affect the way he does things,” Father Donohue said. “He’s got a great physical strength in terms of the man he is, but he also has a great spiritual strength,” he said. “He will manage it.”

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Pope Leo has offered an example of faith and courage in the face of illness.

“He shows himself as a man of great faith and putting himself in the hands of God in a very simple and profound way,” he told CNS Oct. 14.

“As members of our own families face illnesses, sometimes we don’t know, what can we do, but there’s a sense that it’s in God’s hands, and I think that’s the example the Holy Father gives us,” he said.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNS Oct. 14 that he was “as surprised as anyone else” to learn of Pope Leo’s diagnosis and need for surgery.

He called on Catholics to pray for the pope and to remember that “God is with us and God has a plan,” urging them “just not to lose hope, not to doubt God’s providence and his plan,” because he called Pope Leo to the pontificate.

The diagnosis and removal of a section of his lung have also raised questions about the pope’s upcoming apostolic journey to South America, scheduled for Nov. 6-17, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

The Vatican has not announced any changes to the trip, which remains on the pope’s official schedule.

Father Donohue said many people in Peru, where Pope Leo spent much of his ministry as a missionary, priest and bishop, are eagerly awaiting his return. He said he believed the pope would be reluctant to disappoint them by canceling the visit.

“I will assure you if they say it’s okay, he’s going to be on that plane,” Father Donohue told CNS.

The pope’s cancer diagnosis and treatment come as another member of his family is undergoing treatment for the disease.

Deborah Prevost, the wife of the pope’s oldest brother Louis Prevost, told CBS News Oct. 13 that her husband has multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting plasma cells, a type of white blood cell.

She said her husband was first diagnosed in 2017 and underwent treatment in 2019, including a stem cell transplant and participation in a clinical trial, which kept the cancer at a “very low level.” However, he “fell out of remission” three months ago, she said, and is undergoing treatment again.

The pope’s parents also had histories of cancer. His mother, Mildred, died in 1990 at age 78 after being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. His father, Louis, died in 1997 of colon cancer and heart disease.

According to a medical report released by the Vatican late Oct. 13, the pope’s surgery lasted approximately 90 minutes, although he was in the operating room for about three hours. The procedure included waiting for histological test results. The operation was successful, with no complications.

Using a small video camera called a thoracoscope, surgeons removed the entire lower lobe of the pope’s right lung to ensure the removal of the tumor and surrounding tissue. The histological examination confirmed the earlier preoperative suspicion of lung cancer.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, reiterated to reporters Oct. 14 that the pope was still expected to remain in the hospital for a week. The prefecture of the papal household canceled his public audiences and events through Oct. 20.

Among the events the pope was unable to attend was the closing Mass Oct. 14 for a weeklong Vatican meeting marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” on marriage and family life.