VATICAN CITY: The Vatican on Tuesday canceled two of Pope Francis’s events at the weekend as the 88-year-old continues to receive hospital treatment for bronchitis.
The Holy See had already on Monday indicated that the pontiff, who was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday, would stay longer than initially believed due to a “complex” clinical picture.
“Due to the health conditions of the Holy Father, the Jubilee audience of Saturday February 22 is canceled,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
It added that the pontiff has delegated a senior Vatican clergyman to celebrate a planned mass on Sunday morning.
The Vatican did not mention the Angelus prayer, which the pope normally delivers at midday on Sunday, but which he missed last weekend.
Francis, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.
It is latest of a series of health issues for the Argentine Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021, and uses a wheelchair for a sore knee.
In a statement on Monday, the Vatican said tests had confirmed “a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract that has led to a further change in treatment.”
“All the tests carried out until now are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require adequate hospitalization,” it said.
In an update later on Monday evening, it said his condition was unchanged.
“The Holy Father remains without a fever and is proceeding with the prescribed treatment,” it added.
He had on Monday morning “received the Eucharist and subsequently dedicated himself to some work and reading texts,” it said.
“Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness he continues to receive,” it added.
Vatican cancels hospitalized Pope Francis’s weekend events
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Vatican cancels hospitalized Pope Francis’s weekend events
- The Holy See had already indicated that the pontiff would stay longer in the hospital than initially believed due to a ‘complex’ clinical picture
- It is latest of a series of health issues for the pope, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021, and uses a wheelchair for a sore knee
Sweden plans to tighten rules for gaining citizenship
- The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates
STOCKHOLM: Sweden said Monday it planned to tighten rules to acquire citizenship, introducing “honest living” and financial requirements, a language and general knowledge test and raising the residency requirement from five to eight years.
If approved by parliament, the new rules would enter into force on June 6, Sweden’s national holiday, and would apply even to applications already being processed.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell, whose right-wing minority government holds a majority with the backing of the far-right Sweden Democrats, told reporters it was currently too easy to acquire Swedish citizenship.
“Citizenship needs to mean more than it does today,” he said.
“Pride is something you feel when you’ve worked hard at something. But working hard is not something that has characterised citizenship.
“It has been possible to become a citizen after five years without knowing a single word of Swedish, without knowing anything about our Swedish society, without having any own income.”
Referring to a case that recently made headlines, he said: “You can even become one while you’re sitting in custody accused of murder.
“This obviously sends completely wrong signals, both to those who do right by themselves and those who are already citizens.”
Following a large influx of migrants to Sweden during the 2015 migrant crisis, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and migration rules.
The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates.
Under the new rules, those who have criminal records — in their home country or in Sweden — and who have served their sentence would have to wait up to 17 years before being allowed to apply for citizenship, up from the current 10 years.
In addition, those deemed to not adhere to “honest living” requirements would not be granted citizenship.
That could include racking up mountains of debt, being served restraining orders or even having a drug addiction.
Applicants would also have to have a monthly pre-tax income of 20,000 kronor ($2,225), excluding pensioners and students.
The citizenship tests would be similar to those used in neighboring Denmark and the United States, the government said, with the first tests due to be held in August.
