Pope Leo undergoes surgery for lung cancer

{"text":[[{"start":6.38,"text":"Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed, in the first health crisis of his 17-month-old pontificate."}],[{"start":16.14,"text":"Pope Leo was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a suspicious nodule from his lung."}],[{"start":23.34,"text":"Afterwards, the Vatican said the nodule was confirmed to be “pulmonary adenocarcinoma”, or cancerous, as preoperative tests had indicated. To ensure the elimination of all diseased tissue, doctors removed “the lower lobe of the right lung . . . using a video-assisted technique”, it added."}],[{"start":41.74,"text":"“The procedure was successful, there were no complications,” according to a statement by the Vatican."}],[{"start":47.66,"text":"Pope Leo, 71, announced on Sunday in St Peter’s Square that he would have an operation this week to remove a “small, localised” nodule detected on his lung during routine medical checks."}],[{"start":59.06,"text":"Though the Chicago-born pontiff did not specify cancer, he said the nodule had been found at “an early stage”."}],[{"start":64.66,"text":"“It was detected at a very early stage and is well localised,” Pope Leo said. “The doctors believe that it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it.”"}],[{"start":76.26,"text":"The pope’s hospitalisation has sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church, across Italy and beyond, at a time when many see him as a powerful moral voice as wars rage in Europe and the Middle East amid growing concern about the impact of AI."}],[{"start":90.5,"text":"It comes less than a year and a half after Cardinal Robert Prevost was elevated to the papacy, following the death of his Argentine predecessor Francis, whose final months in 2025 were marked by debilitating illness."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":103.02,"text":"Pope Leo has a reputation as a fitness buff. He is a regular tennis player and swimmer, has installed workout equipment in his papal apartment and has spoken publicly about the importance of sport in human development and spiritual growth."}],[{"start":115.62,"text":"“This is a health scare that comes earlier than anyone expected,” said Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University. “It reminds you of his mortality, and that is a reality check.”"}],[{"start":128.58,"text":"But pulmonologists speaking before the surgery said Pope Leo had good prospects for a full recovery."}],[{"start":132.58,"text":"Juliana Guarize, director of interventional pulmonology at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, said a successful operation could offer a complete cure without requiring further treatment and with minimal risk of recurrence."}],[{"start":145.9,"text":"“If it’s an early-stage lung cancer, the probability of cure is 97, 98 or 99 per cent,” she added."}],[{"start":154.02,"text":"Luke Howard, a consultant pulmonologist at Imperial College in London, also suggested the papal prognosis was good."}],[{"start":160.7,"text":"“If it’s really localised, and it doesn’t show something very unusual, this is potentially looking like a curative procedure,” he said. “Once you have removed it, that’s it.”"}],[{"start":171.46,"text":"Pope Leo’s diary has been cleared until next Tuesday to give him time to recover from his operation."}],[{"start":176.16,"text":"“There is a sense of how fragile the forces that are trying to hold space for humanity are,” Faggioli said. “We will miss his voice when he is in hospital.”"}],[{"start":184.74,"text":"He also said the handling of the illness reflected the Vatican’s growing transparency on matters of papal health, a trend started by Francis."}],[{"start":192.3,"text":"“The health of the pope has traditionally been kept a secret, just like in Soviet Russia,” Faggioli said. “Knowing that the pope is not well physically might inspire people to conspire — that was the old way of thinking. This time, it’s being dealt with differently.”"}],[{"start":207.74,"text":"In recent months, Pope Leo has clashed with US President Donald Trump over the Iran war, called for international co-operation to regulate AI and stressed the importance of European unity on a visit to France."}],[{"start":219.66,"text":"He looked well on Sunday and kept to his busy schedule on Monday, including a meeting with Archbishop Timothy Broglio, chaplain to the US military."}],[{"start":227.9,"text":"Afterwards, Broglio slammed US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to livestream the execution by firing squad of former American soldier Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire on military personnel at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, killing 13."}],[{"start":244.3,"text":"Broglio urged Catholic soldiers to exempt themselves from the firing squad, calling the death penalty contrary to Church teachings."}],[{"start":250.94,"text":"“Do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?” Broglio asked after his papal audience."}],[{"start":261.58,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791942512_3433.mp3"}