Pope Francis apologizes to the delegation of 150 people from the French School of Communication who will visit him in the Vatican this Friday: “I have a problem, a slight bronchitis, and I will not be able to read the prepared speech.” In any case, The Pope did not cancel his agenda but greeted the participants of each meeting one by one.
In four meetings with crowds this morning, he avoided reading out two speeches, one by a French communicator and another before members of the Board of Trustees and Scientific Committee of the “Memorie audiovisive del cattolicesimo” foundation. .
Yes, he spoke a few words before the Council for Cultural Cooperation between the Orthodox and Orthodox Churches; he spoke at considerable length before the Toniolo Foundation awarded scholarships to young people to work in the Diplomatic Representation of the Holy See.
He warned them of “weak thinking” and “short-term thinking” which “can lead to generalization and criticism, simplification and manipulation of reality, and the pursuit of one’s own immediate interests rather than the interests of others and the future”. “I worry when I hear about young people being trapped behind screens, with their eyes reflecting artificial light instead of letting their creativity shine through,” he admits.
Also on Thursday, he held nine other formal meetings throughout the morning and avoided delivering two of his three planned speeches. While he did read out the greetings to the “Sentinels of the Holy Family,” he decided to deliver his prepared speech in person to a group of “costaleros” from the Italian city of Viterbo; as well as members of the secular institution “Missionary Priests of Christ the King”. On Wednesday he preached the catechism to the public with a weary look on his face, but without any particular difficulty.
The House of Santa Marta was filled with tranquility because, in addition, the Pope held today his regular working meeting with Cardinal Prevost, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and Cardinal Fernández, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After the blessing declaration of “Fiducia supplans” was released, it became the center of the storm.
Pope Francis also met with Ambassador to Albania Luigi Bonazzi. and Knights of Columbus leader Patrick E. Kelly, accompanied by Archbishop William Edward Lowry of Baltimore.