# Pope Francis is on "absolute rest" for bronchitis: Feb 2025 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 15, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368 "2025-02-15T23:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/21 "2025-02-17T20:28:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > My first thought on reading the thread title was that absolute rest for bronchitis was something that Francis had issued a papal decree on. Let me fix that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/22 "2025-02-17T20:39:51Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Let me fix that. 🙂 And I thought that meant you were going to tell him to make that papal decree! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/23 "2025-02-17T20:46:49Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > And I thought that meant you were going to tell him to make that papal decree! 🙂 Ok, we mods have power, but… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/24 "2025-02-17T22:14:44Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Unsure if Francis smoked. That is how he - ultimately - landed the job ;o) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2025, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/25 "2025-02-17T22:48:01Z")
Wow! I’ve heard of partial liver donation, and even partial pancreas transplantation (that had problems which still limit its use) but this? That’s incredible. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/26 "2025-02-18T00:18:58Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > "Double pneumonia” is a common term, usually for a viral infection that is followed by a bacterial one. [Wrong](https://www.healthline.com/health/double-pneumonia). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/27 "2025-02-18T01:50:50Z")
Huh. Seems I was misinformed. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/28 "2025-02-18T02:53:31Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Seems I was misinformed. The article I linked to upthread described the Pope’s current infection as a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection.” That actually sounds closer to what you had described. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/29 "2025-02-18T20:20:49Z")
> **According to two people familiar with the matter, Francis has been suffering from intense pain and has privately expressed certainty he won’t make it this time.** On Sunday, doctors at Gemelli distressed the pope by barring him from delivering his regular morning Angelus sermon, which he has rarely missed, even when hospitalized, said one of the people and a third person. He is now acting entirely on “doctors’ orders,” said one of them. > > The pope initially resisted going to hospital but was told in no uncertain terms that he was at risk of dying if he stayed in his room in the Vatican, the second person added. > > As his health has deteriorated over the last month, Francis has also moved to complete key initiatives and appoint sympathetic figures to key posts, following a progressive-tinted papacy marked by [bitter ideological divisions](https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-rome-vatican-city-germany-catholics-liberal-revolution/). Since he became pope in 2013, Francis has aimed to make the Church more inclusive, opening up key roles to women and LGBT+ people. > **[Pope Francis, sensing he is close to death, moves to protect his legacy](https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-legacy-death-complex-italy-rome-health/)** > > The battle to succeed Pope Francis is likely to be highly politicized, particularly given the pontiff’s recent clash with Catholic U.S. Vice President JD Vance. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/30 "2025-02-18T20:31:41Z")
Since he didn’t retire a while ago I wonder if he thinks he’ll be replaced by a more conservative and traditional pope. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/31 "2025-02-18T21:00:38Z")
He almost certainly will be. I can only imagine that MAGA Catholics are pretty pumped about getting to pick the new Pope. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/32 "2025-02-18T21:12:14Z")
One thing that I admire/envy about Francis is that when he was young he was buds with Jorge Luis Borges. Maybe we can get a French pope who’d palled with Samuel Beckett. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/33 "2025-02-18T21:24:06Z")
Moderating: > [@Zoobi](#): > > He almost certainly will be. I can only imagine that MAGA Catholics are pretty pumped about getting to pick the new Pope. That’s really not an appropriate comment for this thread. I have just now tagged it as a breaking news thread (no political jabs!) but it should have been obvious from the content that it was that sort of thread. No warning, because it wasn’t tagged. But don’t do this again. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/34 "2025-02-18T21:24:41Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Maybe we can get a French pope who’d palled with Samuel Beckett. Sadly, [Andre Roussimoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant) is no longer with us. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/35 "2025-02-19T01:48:19Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > One thing that I admire/envy about Francis is that when he was young he was buds with Jorge Luis Borges. Maybe we can get a French pope who’d palled with Samuel Beckett. Or an American pope who turns out to be Thomas Pynchon. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/36 "2025-02-22T18:34:32Z")
> Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. > > The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update. > > “The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the statement said. > **[Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition](https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-pneumonia-sepsis-vatican-respiratory-infection-bab5b9a141517171d4efc71fadafa0a4)** > > The Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/37 "2025-02-22T22:09:21Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > "…At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the statement said. What is a “reserved” prognosis? Does that mean TPTB is simply keeping mum? Or is there an actual medical definition? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/38 "2025-02-22T22:16:23Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > What is a “reserved” prognosis? Does that mean TPTB is simply keeping mum? Or is there an actual medical definition? TPTB seem to be unusually forthcoming about his condition: > [@](#): > > Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death. > > “Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a news conference Friday at Gemelli. “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone. “But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.” > > “He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri added. “And he told us to relay that.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/39 "2025-02-22T22:28:56Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > > “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone. Too soon! > **[NBA player mocked coronavirus by touching mics- then tested positive days later](https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/12/nba-player-mocked-coronavirus-touching-every-mic-tested-positive-covid-19-12389111/amp/)** > > Gobert's bizarre gesture took place in an interview room after the NBA barred reporters from entering locker rooms because of the outbreak ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/40 "2025-02-22T22:35:16Z")
Sure sounds like it’s grave. He seems like a good guy. He’ll be missed if it’s his time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368.md?page=3)