Health concerns lead to Pope's withdrawal from COP28 in Dubai
Pope Francis has canceled his forthcoming trip to Dubai where he was due to attend the United Nations' climate conference - COP28, as reported by the AFP agency. The cancellation, scheduled for Friday, was induced by recommendation of his physicians, according to the AP agency.
11:04 AM EST, November 29, 2023
Heeding the advice of his physicians, Pope Francis called off his visit to Dubai for the UN’s climate change conference running from December 1-3. This information was made public by the Vatican press office on Tuesday. The trip was canceled due to a recent diagnosis of respiratory inflammation.
With much regret, the pope adhered to his doctors' recommendations - this was announced by the Vatican in a release to the press.
The Vatican broke the news on Tuesday afternoon that Pope Francis had almost 30 separate meetings arranged, to meet with leaders of state and government, and representatives from various social associations. The pope was slated to embark on a three-day journey to the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Pope Francis, being the first Pope to attend a climate change conference, had planned to meet with approximately 20 heads of state and governments, along with representatives from 10 different associations, as reported by the Holy See. "All these discussions were scheduled to take place on a Saturday night, following a morning speech by Francis at the COP28 forum, located at Expo City, the recent venue of a world exhibition", the Vatican informed on Tuesday afternoon.
