Vatican announces Pope's health issues, skips major climate summit

Pope Francis has publicly acknowledged that he is not feeling well. Earlier this week, he had to call off his scheduled trip to Dubai owing to health concerns.

Just a few weeks short of his 87th birthday, Pope Francis cancelled his anticipated trip to the UN Climate Conference in Dubai. Health constraints impeded his travel plans. Reports from usatoday.com suggest that the Pope had symptoms of a flu-like illness coupled with inflammation of the respiratory tract.

"Pope Francis, with great regret, accepted his doctors' advice, and hence the trip was cancelled," announced Matteo Bruni, the spokesperson for the Holy See Press Office, in a statement.

In the course of his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, a contrite Francis informed the audience that he "doesn't feel well" and had his aide read out the prepared speech. He reasoned that if he were to read it, the speech wouldn't sound "nice," usatoday.com reports.

Despite not feeling well, during the audience, he articulated his support for a temporary ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, the release of hostages, as well as the provision of aid to Gaza. Earlier that day, he encountered members of the Scottish football team Celtic, reassuring them that he was feeling slightly better compared to the previous day.

"I'm sorry, but due to this cold, I can't say much. However, I'm feeling better than yesterday," he confessed to the team.