“This experience has made me feel a special closeness to all those who are battling illness and infirmity,” he said, in his first public appearance since his lung surgery.
For a pope who appeared to have time on his side, cancer has raised questions about his longevity and brought a new urgency to his plans for the church.
Pope Leo arriving at a hospital in Rome ahead of his surgery on Tuesday. The cancer diagnosis changes the outlook for a pope whose relative youth suggested he might have decades to reign.
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