Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“Although the Holy Father’s general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, the doctors have advised the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office.

“Pope Francis accepted the doctors’ request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled,” he continued. “As the Pope and the Holy See remain willing to be part of the discussions taking place over the next few days, the methods by which this can take place will be defined as soon as possible.”

Earlier in the day, Bruni had said that “the Pope is doing well” and that the Pope would be accompanied on the trip by a doctor and a nurse.

According to a report that originally appeared in the Daily Compass, and has now been corroborated by several Vatican sources, the Pope announced his decision to move against Cardinal Burke during a meeting last week with leaders of the Roman Curia.

According to a November 28 AP report, the Pope explained that he was removing the American prelate’s privileges because Cardinal Burke was damaging the unity within the Church by his criticism of papal policies. The Pontiff previously removed Cardinal Burke from his post as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in 2014, and then stripped him of his authority as patron of the Knights of Malta in 2017, leaving the cardinal without an ecclesiastical post even before his official retirement in June of this year.

Pope Francis was reported in “good and stable condition,” free of fever, on Monday, November 27, after a weekend hospital visit caused by breathing difficulties that the Vatican attributed to a “mild flu.”