The Vatican has detailed laws, rituals and norms to transfer papal power if a pope dies or resigns. But none of them apply when he is sick or even unconscious.
Health Care
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo’s lung surgery concludes ‘positively,’ Vatican says
“The operation has concluded positively, within the time and ways that were envisaged,” and “the Holy Father is now back in his room,” the Vatican said in a brief statement.
Posted inNews
Florida Catholic bishops push back on state AG’s threat to participation in school voucher program
Florida’s bishops issued a staunch defense of their ability to determine policies for Catholic schools after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent them a letter demanding that Catholic schools adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Did humanitarian aid cuts contribute to Africa’s Ebola outbreak?
The escalating outbreak threatens to become the deadliest Ebola crisis on record if the international community does not quickly step up its humanitarian and medical response.
Posted inEditorials
Secretary Kennedy, good health is not guaranteed by lifestyle choices. We need a fair health care system.
Prioritizing health care for the most vulnerable among us recognizes not only that we were all created equal but also that we were created to care for each other.
Posted inNews
One year later, Pope Francis’ nurse remembers him as ‘a second father’
As the Catholic Church commemorates the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death in Rome and beyond, his personal nurse, who attended him until the end, remembered the man he regarded as “a second father.”
Posted inShort Take
The good Samaritan’s lessons for Catholic health care on World Day of the Sick
The Catholic Church is the largest unified provider of health care in the world, giving us our best opportunity to relieve suffering and improve lives.
Posted inDispatches
Spain plans to include right to abortion in Constitution—and build a list of medical conscientious objectors
Objectors to the law, including many doctors, consider the registry a “black list” meant to intimidate and eventually discriminate against medical professionals who refuse to participate in abortions.
Posted inShort Take
I’m a Catholic doctor in Sudan. We need international aid—at the grassroots level.
When local leaders are equipped and trusted, the impact of humanitarian aid is immediate, cost-effective and lasting.
Posted inNews
Bishops overwhelmingly back ban on ‘gender interventions’ by Catholic health care
The U.S. bishops have approved an updated version of their guiding document on Catholic health care, with substantial revisions that include explicit prohibitions against so-called “gender-affirming care.”