Pope in wheelchair is forced to ditch his trip to Africa

POPE FRANCIS has cancelled a planned July trip to Africa on doctors’ orders because of ongoing knee problems, the Vatican said, raising further questions about the health and mobility problems of the 85-year-old pontiff.

The Vatican said the July 2-7 trip to Congo and South Sudan would be rescheduled “to a later date to be determined”. “At the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardise the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee, the Holy Father has been forced to postpone, with regret, his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to South Sudan, planned for

July 2 to 7 to a later date to be determined,” the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis, inset, has been using a wheelchair for about a month due to strained ligaments in his right knee that have made walking and standing difficult and painful.

He has refused so far to get surgery and has instead received injections, kept the knee as immobile as possible and walked with a cane or the help of an aide.

Questions had swirled for months about Francis’ ability to negotiate the Africa journey, which would have been taxing for the Pope even without the knee problems. Yet as recently as this week, plans were proceeding for the trip, with the Vatican releasing the names of accredited journalists who were due to fly on the papal plane.

Francis had been due to visit South Sudan with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland to make a joint ecumenical appeal for peace. Such a trip had been discussed as early as 2017 but security concerns kept postponing it. The Rev John Gbemyoro, an official with the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the news dimmed the expectations of Christians in the two countries. “We don’t love to hear it,” he told the Associated Press. “But we are asking God to heal him quickly because we still need him to come to South Sudan.” He asked the South Sudanese to continue to pray for the pontiff.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Iain Greenshields, said they were praying for Francis and regretted the trip would again be postponed.

“I continue to pray for the people of South Sudan in their challenges and hopes for peace and look forward to this historic visit at a later date,” Mr Welby tweeted.