Vatican denies Pope has brain tumour

  VATICAN CITY - The Holy See has denied an Italian newspaper report that Pope Francis has a small, treatable brain tumour, insisting that the head of the Roman Catholic Church is in "good health".

  In the first statement released by the Holy See, the Vatican Spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi termed the report in Quotidiano Nazionale (QN) as "totally unfounded... irresponsible and unworthy of attention".

  "As everyone can see, the pope is conducting his extremely intense activities without interruption in an absolutely normal way," he continued. QN subsequently said it expected the Vatican to deny the report and stood by its story. 

  The QN director, Anders Cangini, has said that “it is a story that will not weaken the figure of the pope. He will feel even more human and closer to the people.” 

  He denied the existence of ulterior motives, stating that “We have only found a trail, followed it, and we found authenticity. We did not publish this story for a long time in order to make all necessary checks. We do not have the slightest doubt as to its merits. We seriously debated whether or not to publish it. We would have done the same with a ruler or a head of state. In the US, the same happened with the cancer of Reagan.”

  However, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez has said in an interview with Repubblica that “it looks like some sort of apocalyptic strategy to discredit those in power, speak ill of him, spread false news, so that more people begin to think that we need to get a replacement.”

  Cardinal Walter Kasper has similarly said to Repubblica that this is a “clumsy attempt to influence the work of the Synod”, to cause confusion and chaos.

  According to QN, Dr. Takanori Fukushima, a Japanese specialist, diagnosed Pope Francis as having a small dark spot on his brain that can be treated without surgery.

  It said the pontiff had gone to the San Rossore di Barbaricina clinic near Pisa to see Fukushima.   The Vatican Press Office denied this, saying that "there has been no Vatican helicopter flight in Tuscany, except for inspections for the pope's trip to Prato and Florence on November 10”.

  Fukushima himself has since said that he has only met the pontiff twice, on Oct. 1 2014 in Piazza San  Pietro, where he shook his hand, and on January 24, where the two met personally. The neurosurgeon did not confirm the alleged medical examination