Pope Francis, 85, uses wheelchair on his way to tell young people they must help save the Earth

Pope Francis, 85, was pushed into a wheelchair on Saturday as he took a trip to Assisi to tell young people it was their duty to protect the planet and change the course of the earth.

Francis was visiting the birthplace of his eponymous saint who was close to nature when he called for “courage” to abandon fossil fuels and complained that older generations did not know how to protect the planet and secure peace.

He told young people that he pinned his hopes on their efforts to save the planet and make the global economy pay more attention to the poor.

The aging pope’s health has been in the spotlight for some time, as concerned onlookers question whether he still has the vitality to carry out his pope’s duties.

He is believed to be using a wheelchair due to a serious knee problem that limits his mobility, although he also had colon surgery in July to remove 33 cm (13 inches) of bowel.

The Vatican described it as a “scheduled procedure” because the Pope’s guts were “constricted.”

Francis, 85, is said to be using a wheelchair due to a serious knee problem that limits his mobility, although he also had colon surgery in July to remove 33 cm of bowel

Francis was visiting the birthplace of his eponymous saint who was close to nature when he called for “courage” in abandoning fossil fuels and lamented that older generations did not know how to protect the planet and secure peace.

And in August, Francis created the position of Personal Health Assistant to the Holy Father to complement the personal physician he already has. Italian Massimiliano Strappetti was appointed to the position, the Holy See announced that same month.

During his July trip to Canada — where the Pope apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in removing Indigenous children from their families to place them with Canadian children — he was accompanied at all times by a nurse.

During his brief visit to the hill town in central Italy on Saturday, Francis spoke to a gathering of some 1,000 young people, some of whom were young economists. Others are involved in efforts, including start-ups, aimed at helping the environment.

The participants came from all over the world. Among them was a woman who told the Pope how she and her husband were helped to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover last year by an organization called The Economy of Francis, which is inspired by the life of St. Francis, with his concern for the poor and others in need.

The pope said a global economy is needed that expresses “a new vision for the environment and the earth.”

‘There are many people, companies and institutions that are making an ecological transition. We need to do further down this road and more,” Francis said.

The Pope cited an urgent need to discuss development models.

Pope Francis attends the Economy of Francesco (EoF) event in Assisi, central Italy, where he told young people he pinned his hopes on their efforts to save the planet and give the global economy more attention to the poor

Francis smiles for a selfie with a participant during the Economy of Francesco (EoF)

“Now is the time for renewed courage to abandon fossil fuels to accelerate the development of zero- or positive-impact energy sources,” Francis said.

He told the youth, “Our generation has left you a rich heritage, but we don’t know how to protect the planet or create peace.”

He complained of a lack of ‘creativity, optimism, enthusiasm’ and told young people that ‘we thank God that you are here. Not only will you be there tomorrow, but you’ll be here today.’

The Pope’s faith in young people may be bolstered by the horrors he admitted to being committed in Ukraine, revealing that his charity head, who provides aid in Ukraine, had to flee and take cover after coming under gunfire last week. lying down.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who is Polish, was forced to dodge bullets during his fourth humanitarian and pastoral mission to Ukraine, sending supplies with a Catholic bishop, a Protestant bishop and a Ukrainian soldier.

The pope said yesterday he spoke to Krajewski, who had visited Ukrainian mass graves outside Izium, in northeast Ukraine.

Francis said today: ‘He (Krajewski) told me about the pain of these people, the barbaric acts, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies they find.

“Let’s unite with these people, so noble and tortured.”