Vatican City, Aug 3, 2020 / 09:26 am
The Vatican said Monday the health problems of Benedict XVI are not serious, though the pope emeritus is suffering from a painful disease.
The Vatican press office said according to Benedict's personal secretary, Archbishop George Ganswein, "the health conditions of the pope emeritus are not of particular concern, except for those of a 93 year old who is going through the most acute phase of a painful, but not serious, disease."
German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse (PNP) reported Aug. 3 that Benedict XVI has facial erysipelas, or facial shingles, a bacterial infection of the skin which causes a painful, red rash.
Benedict biographer Peter Seewald told PNP the former pope has been "very frail" since his return from visiting his older brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, in Bavaria in June. Georg Ratzinger died July 1.