During WYD, Francis omitted some important passages from his speeches and preferred to speak to the public without the aid of texts, which led to assumptions about the Holy Father’s vision problems. The Vatican has denied that the Pope is having vision problems

Newsroom (08/08/2023 20:00, Gaudium Press) Last Friday, August 4, Pope Francis canceled a speech that was to be delivered on the morning of the same day. The speech was canceled due to low lighting and special concern for the Pope’s eyesight.

This fact drew attention and raised assumptions about health problems in the Pope’s eyes, especially after he omitted two significant passages from a speech on Saturday, August 5, in Fatima.

On Friday, Pope Francis visited a Lisbon charity center and delivered the first paragraphs of a prepared speech, but failed to read the rest of the text. The same thing occurred in the evening. During the Stations of the Cross with young people, the Pope preferred to improvise in his words, although he had a prepared speech. As the Vatican spokesman later explained, the Pope usually adapts to the audience in front of him.

On Saturday in Lisbon, Francis read only the first lines of the prepared text and then proposed to the participants an impromptu reflection on Our Lady. During the visit to the shrine of Fatima, a special message on peace in the world was expected, especially about the war in Ukraine. The Holy Father also omitted the prayer that was prepared for the end of the rosary.

As reported by Crux newspaper, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni assured that it was not a problem of the Pope’s eyesight. Friday’s speech was canceled “due to the lighting, which generated a reflection on the glasses,” Matteo Bruni explained.

Matteo Bruni also clarified that, despite the full schedule of World Youth Day (WYD), the Pope did not feel tired and was in good health. (FM)

Compiled by Dominic Joseph