Page 9 - atoday
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Thursday 22 October 2015
Vatican denies pope is in ill
health after media reports
NICOLE WINFIELD ries are completely false.” A plume of smoke rises from a camp for migrants near Slovenia’s border with Croatia, in Brezice,
DANIELA PETROFF Lombardi dismissed the Slovenia, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. It was not clear what caused the fire that has broken out in
Associated Press reports to journalists the camp which is housing thousands of migrants, including women and children.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Wednesday, issuing three
Vatican on Wednesday separate and increasingly (AP Photo/Matej Leskovsek)
denied Pope Francis is in exasperated denials as
ill health, saying his head the day wore on and after Angry migrants burn tents in Slovenia
is “absolutely perfect” af- consulting with the pope
ter an Italian newspaper himself, who appeared in AMER COHADZIC the north had waded the Ari Omar, an Iraqi, who was
reported he has a small, fine form during his weekly Associated Press previous night through the resting in a Slovenian pas-
curable brain tumor. The general audience. BREZICE, Slovenia (AP) — Sutla River, which marks the ture a few hundred meters
Japanese brain cancer Lombardi said no Japa- After too many days and border between Slovenia (yards) from the border
specialist identified in the nese doctor had visited nights stuck outside in the and Croatia, in frigid condi- with Croatia. “We did not
report as having made the the pope, the pope had rain and cold, tempers are tions made worse by their think Europe is like this: no
diagnosis denied having not traveled to Pisa for fraying among the tens of soaked clothes. Sometimes respect for refugees, not
ever examined the pon- treatment, that no heli- thousands of migrants try- in the pitch dark, at other treating us with dignity.
tiff. The Vatican spokes- copters had landed in the ing to get through the Bal- times aided by light from a Why is Europe like this?”
man, the Rev. Federico Vatican from the outside kans to the heart of Europe. police helicopter’s search- More than 21,500 people
Lombardi, said the report and that no tests as de- A fire at the main refugee light, more than 1,000 souls have crossed that frontier
in the National Daily was scribed in the newspaper camp on Slovenia’s border strode chest-deep into the in the five days since Hun-
“completely unfounded had been performed on with Croatia destroyed a muddy waters on the Croat gary — the previous fa-
and seriously irresponsi- the pope. dozen lime green army- side and struggled up the vored EUentry point for mi-
ble,” as well as “absolutely However, he didn’t spe- issue tents Wednesday as muddy embankment into grants crossing the Balkans
inexcusable and uncon- cifically deny that the scores of mostly young Slovenia. — closed its borders with
scionable.” The Vatican pope had a brain tumor, male migrants nearby Many migrants from the Croatia and forced the hu-
newspaper suggested the issuing only specific deni- chanted, “Let us go! Let us Middle East, Asia and Af- man tide further west into
timing of the publication als about irrelevant details go!” While the government rica expressed bewilder- Slovenia. This Alpine coun-
smacked of an attempt such as helicopter trips. said it was still investigating ment and disappointment try of barely 2 million says it
to manipulate the out- “I can confirm that the the cause, police at the because they had been cannot cope with the vol-
come of a hotly contest- pope is in good health,” scene told The Associated told as they began their ume of human traffic and is
ed meeting on family is- Lombardi said. “If you Press that migrants had set journeys in Turkey that the appealing for EU financial
sues at the Vatican. Citing were in the piazza this a stack of UNHCR-supplied hard part would end once and security aid. Lawmak-
unnamed nursing sources, morning you would have blankets deliberately on they reached EUcountries ers passed an emergency
the National Daily said seen that as well. And if fire to protest conditions in like Croatia and Slovenia. bill permitting Slovenia’s
the 78-year-old pope you go on the trips with the camp on the outskirts Many had expected other military to operate more
had been examined by him, you know he has a of Brezice. countries to permit them freely along the border,
a Japanese brain cancer small problem with his Many of those demand- free passage to wealthier and more than 200 troops
specialist, Dr. Takanori Fu- legs, but his head is abso- ing to leave the Slovenian western countries, particu- were deployed Wednes-
kushima, who determined lutely perfect.” border town for Austria, larly Germany, that they day in armored personnel
that the small dark spot The newspaper’s editor, Germany and other Eu- hope to make home. carriers at several crossing
on Francis’ brain was a tu- Andrea Cangini, said he ropean Union nations to “I am sorry for Europe,” said points and camps. q
mor that could be treated stood by the story. In an
without surgery. It said Fu- interview with The Asso-
kushima had traveled to ciated Press, he said the
the Vatican from a clinic newspaper worked for
in Pisa to examine the months to cross-check
pope. the information with vari-
The ANSA news agency, ous sources from different
citing unnamed sources places, and that there
in Pisa, said Fukushima was “not the minimum
traveled to the Vatican in doubt” that it was true.
January and diagnosed Without going into de-
the pope then. tails about Francis’ medi-
In a statement issued late cal chart, Cangini said
Wednesday by Duke Uni- the tumor is small, can be
versity in North Carolina, treated pharmacologi-
Fukushima said: “I have cally and is in an area of
never medically exam- the brain that isn’t difficult
ined the pope. These sto- to work around. q
