Pope cancels October 27 visit to Assisi, 'too soon after surgery'

(ANSA) - ROME, 23 OTT - Pope Leo XIV has cancelled a planned visit to Assisi next week as his doctors said it came too soon after he had lung-cancer surgery last week, the Vatican said in a statement on Friday. A chest X-ray confirmed that the 71-year-old American pontiff's "postoperative recovery is progressing very well", according to an update from Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora released by the Vatican. "However, given the short time that has elapsed since the surgery, his doctors advised against the planned helicopter journey on October 27 as a precaution," the statement said. Leo had been scheduled to attend the last day of the three-day "Unarmed and Disarming Peace" meeting in Assisi organized by the St Egidio Community. The meeting marks the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by Saint John Paul II. The Vatican statement said the pope will send a message expressing his closeness to the "organizers, the leaders and representatives of Christian denominations and other religions, and the guests attending" and remains convinced "that the 'Spirit of Assisi' dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in an age of conflict". Leo had surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and take out a malignant lung adenocarcinoma. Subsequent tests confirmed that "the disease was localized" and "no further treatment is necessary", his doctors said on Wednesday. Margaritora, the surgeon who led the team that performed the operation, had previously told Vatican News that he saw "no clinical reasons" why Leo's scheduled 11-day visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru next month should not go ahead. (ANSA).
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