Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger, doctors say, but remains in hospital

Pope Francis is no longer in imminent danger of death as a result of pneumonia that has kept him hospitalized for nearly a month, doctors said Monday, but they have decided to keep him hospitalized for several more days to receive treatment.

In a late update, the doctors said the 88-year-old Pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments.

The Vatican said the doctors had lifted their previous "guarded" prognosis, meaning they determined he was no longer in imminent danger as a result of the original respiratory infection he arrived with on Feb. 14. But caution remained.

"However, in view of the complexity of the clinical picture and the important infectious picture presented on admission, it will be necessary to continue medical drug therapy in a hospital setting for additional days," according to the Vatican statement.

In a sign of his improved health, Francis followed the Vatican's weeklong spiritual retreat via video conference on Monday in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

As he did on Sunday, Francis participated in the retreat remotely from the Rome hospital where he is being treated. He could see and hear the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals gathered for the retreat in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.

Pasolini is delivering a series of meditations this week on "the hope of eternal life," a theme that was chosen well before Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection.

The retreat — an annual gathering that kicks off the Catholic Church's solemn Lenten season leading to Easter — continues through the week. The Vatican has said Francis would participate "in spiritual communion" with the rest of the hierarchy, from afar.

Francis also resumed his physical and respiratory therapy at the Gemelli hospital, and rested and prayed in between. Francis has been using a nasal tube for supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask at night, therapy that he was continuing Monday.

Pope Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was just a bad case of bronchitis when he was hospitalized last month. The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined him for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.

Francis was still keeping his eye on things. The Vatican said he had been informed about the floods in his native Argentina and expressed his closeness to the affected population. In addition, a Vatican cardinal close to Francis spoke out Monday to refute some negative media reports that have circulated in his absence.

The Vatican development office released a letter written by Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny to one of Francis's close friends, the Argentine social justice activist Juan Grabois. Grabois had travelled to Rome to pray for Francis at Gemelli hospital, and some Italian media reported last month that he had tried to forcibly get into Francis's 10th floor hospital suite, a claim he denied.

In the March 6 letter, Czerny told Grabois that Francis "knew of your presence in Rome and your daily vigils of prayer and spiritual solidarity at Gemelli Polyclinic, and I'm sure this gave him a true comfort and support."

"Additionally, I know that you join me in strongly repudiating the unfounded versions that have circulated in some media about alleged inappropriate behaviour in the hospital," Czerny wrote.