MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pope halts homily amid shortness of breath

The Argentine-born Pope has been suffering from bronchitis over the past few days

Argentine-born Pope Francis was forced Sunday to interrupt his homily in St. Peter's Square during the Armed Forces Jubilee Sunday due to notorious breathing difficulties. “Now I apologize and ask the master to continue the reading due to difficulty in breathing,” said Jorge Mario Bergoglio before a crowd featuring numerous troops and police officers from various countries.

The 88-year-old Pontiff had already shown signs of discomfort in previous days. Last Wednesday, he could not read his catechesis during the general audience for the same reason. The Holy See explained then that Francis was suffering from bronchitis, which led him to limit his public appearances and hold meetings at his Casa Santa Marta residence.

Despite his condition, Francis attended Sunday's ceremony after a rainy day in Rome. He began by reading the introduction and the penitential act from an armchair next to the altar with the ceremony presided over by Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. The Pope's affected voice and coughing episodes were already noticeable.

Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of the liturgical celebrations, continued the reading of the Pope's message, focused on the role of the Armed Forces and the importance of their service in the construction of peace.

This Jubilee of the Armed Forces is the second major sectoral event of the Holy Year, following the one celebrated last month with communicators from around the world. The celebration offers pilgrims the opportunity to obtain plenary indulgence, in a context of prayer and spiritual encounter.

In his message, Francis urged the armed forces not to let themselves be carried away “by the myth of strength and the noise of weapons.” He also asked attendees to “guard against the temptation to cultivate a spirit of war” and “never to be contaminated by the poison of the propaganda of hatred, which divides the world into friends to defend and enemies to fight.”

“You are entrusted with a great mission, which encompasses multiple dimensions of social and political life,” Francis also mentioned. “The defense of our countries, the commitment to security, the guardianship of legality and justice, the presence in penitentiaries, the fight against criminality, and the different forms of violence that threaten to disturb social peace,” he added in Italian while also praising troops assisting the population amid natural crises. He encouraged them to “have an attentive eye, which knows how to grasp the threats to the common good”, as well as to remedy “the dangers that loom over the lives of citizens”, such as “the environmental, social and political risks to which we are exposed.”

He also asked the military and police to “always be on the side of legality and on the side of the weakest” to “create a more humane, just and fraternal world, despite the opposing forces of evil.”