A sick pope? A dying pope? Believers and observers had not expected Leo
Robert Prevost, who comes from the United States, appeared to be a surprisingly fit priest when he was elected last year, despite being almost 70 years old. It was rumored that he played tennis regularly. There was talk of gymnastic exercises and a moderate lifestyle. You didn't and still can't tell his age.
Leo has now turned 71 and, with his dynamism and strategy, made it clear that he still had a lot planned for the Catholic Church. The news came this week all the more surprising and not only shocking for believers: the Pope has cancer.
Just three days after the diagnosis and the rapid announcement, the pope underwent surgery on Tuesday at Rome's Gemelli Hospital. The surgeons removed the lower part of the affected right lobe of the lung. During a preliminary examination, a tumor was found, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a malignant adenocarcinoma. Meanwhile, as is usual with sick popes, believers gathered in front of the hospital to pray for the pontiff.
The family synod of the Catholic bishops, which met at the same time, took place without the head, but the highest-ranking Cardinal Tagle read a message that Leo had previously written. It was about love within the family, about the mutual responsibility of parents and children, about solidarity in the faith - appropriate words even in view of this illness, in which the church seems to stand behind its pope like a family.
Because Leo was an extremely popular pope in his short time in office, although he did not avoid conflicts, for example with Donald Trump's migration policy or the synodal path of German Catholics. The Augustinian monk from Chicago proved to be the man of the middle that the Vaticanologists had characterized him as - but not of the vague compromise at any price. Leo XIV made a name for himself worldwide as a pope without airs and graces. Less quirky than Francis, not as intellectually unworldly as Benedict XIV - but with character and will.
His predecessor, Francis, had already identified himself as an outsider with his choice of name (no pope had ever had the same name as the poor Jester from Umbria); He didn't want to live in stately apartments and didn't always pay attention to the subtleties of theology. Leo
Leo XII served for 25 years, died in 1903 and is still considered the “worker pope” with his social teachings, who wanted to make the dogmas of the Catholic Church usable for the starving industrial proletariat. The same approach can be found in Leo XIV, although the focus of pastoral duties has now shifted to the poor and disenfranchised in the so-called Third World. Bishop Robert Prevost has already ostentatiously supported victims of political violence, climatic change, poverty migration and exploitation in Chiclayo, Peru, where the churchman mainly advanced his career as a missionary for the Augustinian Order.
Despite his dogmatic indomitability against the church's legalization of homosexuality, against the weakening of celibacy or for the ordination of women, Leo therefore represents a very socially oriented church that self-confidently opposes both secularization and competition from evangelical communities. The distance to the Italian-Roman clique and the self-absorbed Catholicism of Old Europe is also clear.
This means that Leo is also theologically the direct successor of his predecessor Francis, who, as Argentine Cardinal, had inconspicuously but ultimately unstoppably promoted Robert Prevost and put him in position for his own successor.
While Leo's illness requires an as yet unknown period of convalescence, the date for what is probably the most important and emotional journey of his pontificate is approaching. From November 6th to 17th, the Pope wanted to set off on a large-scale trip to Argentina, Uruguay and Peru, with a visit to Leo's former diocese and an encounter with the local church people - his "family" - as the highlight.
Bishop Prevost once sharply attacked the authoritarian President Fujimori. Now his now incumbent daughter, Peru's President Keiko Fujimori, had to inform the public that the pontiff's visit might be postponed. In fact, it is hard to imagine how a 71-year-old who has just had a lung operation can physically survive the pastoral journey with 31,000 kilometers and twenty flights, including high-altitude tours in the Andes at 3,500 meters.
The Vatican is still optimistic and has neither postponed nor canceled the trip to South America. But there are increasing voices that the previously estimated week of recovery after the operation will probably not be enough. It also appears increasingly questionable that the Pope will personally speak at the Dialogue of Religions in Assisi in just under two weeks, as planned.
Meanwhile, the Gemelli Hospital not far from the Vatican publishes daily bulletins that are intended to alleviate the worst worries of the faithful without, however, glossing over the threat of the disease. The day after the operation, the prominent patient - there is a special department for popes at the Gemelli - completed his breathing exercises, said mass in the hospital room and tried some exercise.
In keeping with the CV of this disciplined person, that sounds exemplary as expected. But what are the prospects for a patient with adenocarcinoma today? The answer is ambivalent, as is usually the case in oncology. The tumor that grows in the gland cells can be easily treated after the tissue has been removed, now with specially adapted medication and often without chemotherapy.
However, the statistical chance of survival of 90 percent for the next ten years only applies if the cancer was detected early enough. If the tumor has already spread, the chance of recovery is drastically reduced to around 50 percent or less. In this case, the Pope would probably have to undergo lengthy and demanding radiation treatments, which would result in longer hospital stays and absences from office.
The years of illness of Wojtyla Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005 at the age of almost 85, impressively demonstrated that the Catholic Church can cope well with a weak and ultimately decrepit pope. The charismatic Polish pope, who was seriously injured in an assassination attempt in 1981 and almost died from gunshot wounds, openly portrayed his weakness and pain.
In doing so, he set an example for the sick and dying, who deserve special dignity and special protection in Catholic teaching. Accordingly, today there is a large sculpture of the bowed yet indomitable John Paul II in front of the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Leo is now being treated.
Pope Leo XIV will take his canonized predecessor as an example. The sick man sent a message to the Bishops' Conference for Family Issues, which had to meet without him during his operation, asking: “Pray for me as I pray for you!”
Now, at least in the eyes of Catholics, Leo's future fate lies in God's hands. The coming months will decide whether the Pope will overcome his illness quickly or whether this pontificate will also be marked by infirmity. The only thing that is certain is that this humble and determined Peruvian from Chicago will not submit without resistance. His papal name Leo literally means “lion”. And he will fight like a lion.
