Pope Francis’ decision to forego wearing a mask has been noticed, with some concern, by the commission of Vatican experts he appointed to help chart the Catholic Church’s path through the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath.
The Rev. Augusto Zampini, one of the key members of the pope’s COVID-19 commission, acknowledged Tuesday that at age 83 and with part of his lung removed after an illness in his youth, Francis would be at high risk for complications if he were to become infected with COVID-19.
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Pope Francis’ decision to forego wearing a mask has been noticed, with some concern, by the commission of Vatican experts he appointed to help chart the Catholic Church’s path through the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath.
Francis has courted some criticism for declining to wear a mask when indoors, even though Vatican regulations call for masks indoors and out when social distancing cannot be guaranteed. While Francis’ lung condition could help explain his decision to forego the mask, he donned one for more than two hours last week when he presided over an indoor and outdoor interreligious prayer service in downtown Rome.
The Vatican has declined to respond to questions about Francis and masks.
He acknowledged, though, that the contagion within the Vatican has merely driven home the danger of the virus so that the Vatican itself can be witness to what the rest of the world is experiencing and help be part of the solution.
Follow all of AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, leaves the San Damaso courtyard after his meeting with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, leaves the San Damaso courtyard after his meeting with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
“He has started to use the mask now,” Zampini said in response to reporters' questions. “And I hope he will use it in the general audiences, when he is close to the people. If you’re in an open space, we know that it’s different. But well, we are working on that."
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 file photo, Pope Francis puts on his face mask as he attends an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, in Rome. Pope Francis’ decision to forego wearing a face mask has been noticed, with some concern, by the commission of Vatican experts he appointed to help chart the Catholic Church’s path through the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath. The Rev. Augusto Zampini, one of the key members of the pope’s COVID-19 commission, acknowledged Tuesday that at age 83 and with part of his lung removed, Francis would be at high risk for complications if he were to become infected with COVID-19.(AP PhotoGregorio Borgia, File)
Francis has courted some criticism for declining to wear a mask when indoors, even though Vatican regulations call for masks indoors and out when social distancing cannot be guaranteed. While Francis’ lung condition could help explain his decision to forego the mask, he donned one for more than two hours last week when he presided over an indoor and outdoor interreligious prayer service in downtown Rome.
Yet the following day, Francis went maskless during his indoor general audience in the Vatican auditorium, including when he shook hands with a handful of similarly maskless bishops and leaned in to speak privately to each one. On Saturday, he met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who arrived wearing a mask only to take it off for the audience in the pope's library.
Photos of the maskless leaders caused a mild stir in Spain over the weekend, but the prime minister’s office dismissed it by saying the delegation was following Vatican protocol rules. Spain last week became the first country in Western Europe with more than 1 million confirmed virus cases.
Vatican Swiss Guards, wearing masks to curb the spread of COVID-19, leave the St. Damaso courtyard after Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez meeting with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
The Vatican has declined to respond to questions about Francis and masks.
Zampini said the recent rise in infections in the tiny city state have commission members and the Vatican as a whole concerned. Thirteen Swiss Guards and a resident of the hotel where Francis lives have recently tested positive.
“We are very worried,” Zampini said, noting that the Vatican has strong regulations about keeping social distancing and washing hands within the territory. “We have all protocols in place, but still we have cases.”
Pope Francis, right, greets bishops at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. (AP PhotoGregorio Borgia)
He acknowledged, though, that the contagion within the Vatican has merely driven home the danger of the virus so that the Vatican itself can be witness to what the rest of the world is experiencing and help be part of the solution.
The commission is working to address the current needs of the church around the world with concrete acts of assistance, while also developing policy recommendations for how governments and institutions can re-think global economic, environmental, social, health care and other structures to be more equitable and sustainable.
Aritz Parra in Madrid contributed.
In this combo picture, Pope Francis adjusts his face mask as he attends an inter-religious ceremony for peace in Rome Tuesday, and arrives for his general audience at the Vatican without mask Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. A day after donning a facemask for the first time during a liturgical service, Pope Francis was back to his mask-less old ways during his general audience at the Vatican despite surging coronavirus infections across Europe. (AP PhotoGregorio Borgia)
Follow all of AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Pope Francis meets with bishops in the Paul VI hall on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP PhotoGregorio Borgia)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, leaves the San Damaso courtyard after his meeting with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, leaves the San Damaso courtyard after his meeting with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)