As part of a specific sequence, World-wide News is exploring the struggles of individuals living on the Downtown Eastside. In section one particular, a Vancouver man’s journey from Hollywood to Hastings exhibits how tricky it is to get out of a cycle of habit.
Bernie Coulson has been termed a genius.
The Vancover-born actor and producer was a key character in the 1998 Hollywood blockbuster The Accused opposite Oscar winner Jodie Foster and appeared in demonstrates from The X-Data files to Intelligence.
But the man who the moment shared an condominium with Brad Pitt in Los Angeles now life in the V6A, 1 of the poorest postal codes in Canada.
The when soaring star, now in his late 50s, has a new role: seeking to continue to be alive on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
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Risk-free intake forefront of countering the overdose disaster, key minister states
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Safe and sound consumption forefront of countering the overdose crisis, key minister states
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In a likelihood assembly with World Information in the vicinity of Major and Hastings in Oct, Coulson describes how he’s snorting governing administration-issued prescription drugs as a result of a straw as he waits to get into treatment method.
“I’m so fortunate this last time. Six months in the past when I overdosed, that was it. It was last and it scared the residing crap out of me and I do not want to go again there,” he claimed.
“I really do not want that any more. I just want to be me, which was crack a couple cold kinds following perform.”
Bernie Coulson.
World News
When requested regardless of whether he wants to stay on risk-free supply, he suggests no and that it is “not so protected.”
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Coulson is decided not to develop into a further coroner statistic disclosed in a monthly push release. Additional than 10,000 persons have died in B.C. from a toxic drug offer because a general public overall health crisis was declared in 2016.
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Oct sees 179 harmful drug fatalities in B.C.
Giuseppe Ganci describes how he felt when his friend Don Presland was dying from an overdose.
“When I obtained to the healthcare facility, that’s when I obtained mad. I got truly mad,” mentioned Ganci, the director of local community development for Past Doorway Recovery Society in New Westminster.
“Donnie was in this hospital. He’s received all these nurses, (intensive care unit) persons, devices. He’s bought anything because he’s dying and they have been ready to pull the plug.”
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Calls to make overdose education necessary in B.C. schools
Ganci tells World-wide News Presland didn’t have the money to spend for personal addiction providers and a federal government-funded mattress with all the supports ended up unavailable when he necessary them.
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He believed the rough price of Presland’s healthcare facility stay for considerably less than a week was far more than $10,000.
“The system is put in which when anyone is overdosing and dying, it is pink carpet cure. Here’s the ambulance. Here’s the medical center. Here’s the expert services,” he claimed.
“But the moment you get perfectly and you appear out of your overdose and you say ‘I need aid,’ oh very well, get in line, go on welfare, how substantially dollars do you make? It totally improvements.”
Overdose and drug toxicity report tends to make dozens of recommendations
Again on the Downtown Eastside, Coulson receives some horrible news. A excellent friend’s brother handed absent from an overdose.
In the meantime, Coulson stays ready for rehab.
“This is my option to go. I have been 17 times right before for other men and women. So I want to do it this time. I have bought absolutely nothing to cover and I’m heading to make the ideal of it.”
&duplicate 2022 International Information, a division of Corus Enjoyment Inc.
The digital wellness history industry dimensions is approximated to extend to $30.84 billion by 2030 from its latest sector value of $23.74 billion in 2022. This information is outstanding for a health care field aiming for cohesion, precision, stability, and charge financial savings in affected person care.
The have to have for expansion in electronic health records is multi-fold. Advancing technology, enhanced patient populace, health care procedure integrations, and a regular motion of clinicians, health care staff, and sufferers to distinct networks tends to make maintaining observe of individual data complicated. An expanding EHR sector assists reduce these issues.
And with a report turnover of health care entire-time and component-time workers ensuing from the pandemic, EHR growth could not arrive at a superior time.
What is driving this growth of the digital wellbeing file industry dimension? Immediate technological advancements. Integration of synthetic intelligence in EHR software and authorities investments in health care technologies is fueling advancement. Nonetheless, there are barriers to acquiring an even wider adoption. At this time, servicing and keeping health and fitness records is expensive, and players in the EHR room will need to locate new approaches to reduce these expenditures to maintain HER expansion on the rise.
Dr. Kevin Stevenson, the host of I Really don’t Care, sees several upsides to increasing the EHR market place.
Kevin’s Thoughts
“Hey absolutely everyone, it’s Kevin Stevenson, host of, I Never Treatment, with Dr. Kevin Stevenson on MarketScale. And a disappointment that lots of of my friends and colleagues have had at any time due to the fact I received into healthcare three a long time in the past, was why in the planet that we constantly have to offer the exact health care information and facts just about every time we go to a physician’s workplace or every single time we go into an affiliated outpatient clinic.
And, I tell them, yeah, this is an challenge that we have dealt with in health and fitness methods for a long, time. Some of the challenges that we confront operationally involve disparate EMRs. We could have a health practitioner who practices at our healthcare facility, but who is not a part of our health care group or, anything like that so we really do not have aligned EMRs. Which is a single matter. The other thing is the great turnover in staff members in clinics and in hospitals. So oftentimes men and women may perhaps not have misplaced details. They may perhaps not know exactly where to go for that information and facts, so they experience just to have the redundancy of, would you intellect filling this out again? So what we require to do a lot better is continue on to thrust ourselves into the electronic healthcare history room, creating sure that all of our companies in our network are aligned on the very same EMR and uncover a single that is effective for absolutely everyone. After we do that and we be certain that a person’s personal overall health info is protected all through that come across, wherever they may well go then I believe we’ll be ready to lessen that irritation for all people.”
Contributed by TripsWithPets.com: Pet-Friendly Resorts + Journey
Most of us make some type of New Year’s resolution. We established ambitions for ourselves to try to eat much healthier, reduce fat, expend much less time on our telephones, physical exercise far more, be additional mindful – yada yada yada. Very well, it won’t end with just us. With all the unconditional like and pleasure animals provide us, an overpowering quantity of pet dad and mom also set New Year’s resolutions for their pets.
There are innumerable means that we can even further enrich the lives of our pets. What improved time to get started off than the New Yr ahead.
TripsWithPets surveyed pet mother and father to obtain out what their New Year’s resolutions are for their furry family members members in 2023. Here are the leading 5.
#1 Do extra together
There is no much better way to bond a lot more with your pet than partaking in new things to do collectively. Major on the resolution record for pet mothers and fathers in 2023 is taking extra pet-friendly road trips and discovering new factors to do with their pets. Paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, and exploring pet-helpful places to shop, dine, and continue to be are between the pursuits mentioned.
Individuals are also reading…
#2 Introduce all-natural methods to support pet well being
Loving our pets as we do usually means performing all we can to make sure they lead long, nutritious and delighted life. Quite a few pet mothers and fathers have settled to choose a nearer glance at organic health care for their furry household associates. This features their animals food plan/nourishment, dietary supplements, lifestyle, and different therapies – such as acupuncture, laser cure, homeopathy, and the like. Enhancing our valuable pets’ nicely-remaining is the final goal.
#3 Brush pet’s enamel frequently
Daily brushing of your pet’s enamel is just as important for him as it is for you. Typical tooth brushing will help to avoid gum sickness – and even other conditions. But, several pet moms and dads forget it.
What will make it a little bit tough is if you never start your pet out when he is young, it gets to be a lot more demanding to make your pet amenable to having his teeth brushed as he gets more mature. That’s what generally helps make quite a few pet dad and mom “intermittent” tooth brushers.
The excellent information is, Information Year’s resolution #3 is that pet mom and dad prepare to commit every day to brushing their dog’s and cat’s enamel.
#4 Get additional workout
We all have to have to shift our bodies a lot more – and that includes our pets. It is not just about dropping weight, it is about total well being – intellect, body, and soul. Finding out for a lot more walks, engage in dates, fetch, and games of “conceal and go treat’ are on the docket for additional pet dad and mom in this coming yr.
#5 Work on much better manners & training
Regardless of whether it is barking at house friends, begging at the desk, or bossing you close to, most animals have some unfavorable behaviors that want to be curbed. Pet mothers and fathers have fully commited to doing work with skilled trainers this new calendar year to support their pets with stress and anxiety and conduct concerns so they can be happier, extra relaxed, and responsive.
About TripsWithPets
TripsWithPets is the leading on the web pet vacation internet site — delivering on the web reservations at about 45,000 pet-pleasant motels & lodging across the U.S. and Canada.
When planning a excursion, pet mothers and fathers go to TripsWithPets.com for all they have to have to locate and ebook the perfect location to stay with their pet — including in-depth, up-to-day information and facts on resort pet policies and pet facilities.
TripsWithPets is also a passionate animal advocate. They aid regional and nationwide 501(c)(3) animal welfare organizations by increasing a lot desired funds by way of their yearly Partners for Animal Welfare Series (PAWS).
Love special bargains, get travel tips and news @ #jointheroadtrip.
Keep up to day on everyday living and lifestyle in St. Louis.
Building goals for the new yr is a ritual we all acquire section in proper just after the holiday seasons move. Maybe this calendar year you have designed a resolution to get out of personal debt or dedicate extra time and vitality to eating far better. But soon after a very long and annoying 2022, some of us simply just want to treatment for our minds and nourish our mental wellness in 2023.
Our mental overall health is the foundation for anything we do, which includes our social and emotional very well-being. It impacts each and every component of our everyday living. Being intentional about valuing your psychological health will help you connect deeper with others, minimize stress and strengthen your self confidence. Start your calendar year proper with these very simple every day routines.
Also, see how to the natural way reduce stress devoid of medication and strategies for enhancing your psychological wellbeing without having treatment.
Very simple psychological wellness behaviors to commence for better mental health
Make rest a routine
Extremely several things in daily life are promised. Instances of strain are, unfortunately, one of them. There will be moments when you feel confused or pressured out. On the other hand, you can control how you respond to the pressure. Utilizing rest techniques into your everyday schedule can assist you deal with pressure.
Meditation is a well-known way to chill out as it can support achieve a point out of serene, reduce worry and strengthen your temper. Some people today even use tunes to manual them by way of their meditation periods. If meditation isn’t really your thing, deep respiratory, reading through or having a bubble tub are also popular relaxation approaches. No make a difference how you pick out to take it easy, just make it a practice.
Browse more: The Most effective Meditation Apps for Peace
Exercise gratitude
Such as gratitude in your daily life is a way to develop a good outlook on your daily life. More than that, it has tangible rewards for your mental health, which includes reducing strain, lessening depression indicators and boosting your temper.
Gratitude is a simple thought, but from time to time hard to hold up with. In 2023, consider time for self-reflection and share your gratitude with the individuals all-around you. If you like to journal, regularly create down a listing of matters you are grateful for.
Catherine Delahaye/Getty Images
Worth social interaction
Sharing our time with many others is from time to time just what we require to raise our temper or modify our standpoint on factors. By building time for close friends and loved ones, you will reduce thoughts of loneliness and guarantee you have an emotional assist program at your fingertips. If you can’t consistently meet in particular person, text messages and zoom calls are all significant methods to hook up with others with no truly observing every single other.
The other facet of valuing social interaction is recognizing when you have had ample. Boundaries are an vital section of mental well being that assist you from pushing you much too much. Really feel empowered to say no or transfer plans close to when your body tells you to.
Just take treatment of your physical well being
Mental well being is directly tied to actual physical well being — a person simply cannot flourish without having the other. The three most important areas to target for 2023 are snooze, nourishment and work out.
Let’s dig into each and every concentrate on location:
Snooze: The state of your psychological overall health is influenced by the snooze you get. If you don’t get ample rest, your mind would not have the opportunity to rest and recover. Slumber deprivation will make it more durable to regulate your feelings and cope with strain, which can amplify the signs of existing psychological ailments. Becoming intentional about prioritizing your sleep is a straightforward way to value your psychological well being.
Foods and hydration: Giving your entire body the vitamins and minerals and hydration it requirements to functionality is a different critical aspect of mental wellbeing. In addition to feeding on nicely-balanced meals, try out incorporating food items to your diet regime that enhance contentment. And make guaranteed you consume adequate h2o hydration is joined to diminished chance of anxiety and melancholy.
Work out:Remaining active is an additional way to enhance your temper and make you sense very good. Including training to your regimen presents you a likelihood to bond with other folks, lower stress and anxiety and strengthen your assurance. It would not have to be large lifting or intense exercises typical walks or bicycle rides can also improve your psychological wellness.
Check your social media intake
Our telephones are our lifelines. Most of the time, they’re beside us, keeping us linked to the outdoors globe by calls, texts and social media. The hours put in scrolling via social media, comparing ourselves to the snapshot of perfection folks submit, can critically impact our self-look at and stain our mental wellness. Constant social media use has been connected to worsened anxiety and despair indicators, inner thoughts of inadequacy and harmful sleeping practices.
You can use social media in a way that doesn’t deplete your psychological wellness. Use these methods to make social media perform for you:
Put a limit on how very long you can shell out on social media.
Don’t start out or conclude your working day with social media.
Use the time you applied to spend on social media to do some thing that brings you pleasure or rest.
Journal your inner thoughts
Journaling is a strong resource to cope with mental overall health problems by working through feelings and channeling ideas. A 2018 study identified that journaling for 15 minutes each individual working day appreciably minimized stress and feelings of nervousness. Other research has connected it to supporting operate by way of PTSD indications or depression.
There is no ideal or improper way to journal. Lots of folks journal every day. Other individuals may well only journal when stressed or will need to function by means of a little something. No make a difference how you use it, journaling is a way you can monitor your development and progress all over the calendar year.
Westend61/Getty Pictures
Make yourself chortle
Occasionally, laughter is the finest medicine. When you’re emotion pressured or down, do matters that will make you giggle to lessen panic and anxiety. View your preferred Tv clearly show or movie to give your temper a raise. Or discover the supply in just yourself. Sing while you might be in the shower or dance while cleaning your dwelling. Dancing lowers the anxiety hormone cortisol in the human body.
Improving upon your mental overall health is a journey it will not happen right away. You can make long lasting tweaks to your properly-currently being by intentionally introducing habits to your regime.
The information and facts contained in this posting is for educational and informational needs only and is not supposed as health and fitness or professional medical advice. Constantly consult with a medical professional or other competent well being supplier about any issues you may possibly have about a health care issue or well being goals.
It may be hard to imagine high-performance athletes like football players, for whom work life is literally a full-contact sport, dining on anything but red meat after a game. But Le Cordon Bleu graduate Charity Morgan, who also is married to retired Tennessee Titans star Derrick Morgan, says plants can be powerful.
Chef Morgan, who specializes in comfortable vegan food, isn’t here to push veganism. But this time of year interest in plant-based comfort food begins to peak, with some of our most-read stories anchored by methods for vegan holiday meals and plant-based takes on classic soul food staples.
Morgan has a variety of reasons for feeding her family meat-free food, but one key motivator was keeping her husband healthy while he was still active with the NFL.
“Many people don’t understand that playing sports comes down to how healthy you can stay,” she said.
As taxing on the body as the sport can be, keeping a football player’s body fueled right is the key to high performance, Morgan said. That’s crucial in the NFL, where athletes are often devalued when they suffer persistent injuries. Morgan believes plants have the power to keep players on the field.
The rest of us who battle nothing more than the morning commute might not be looking for full-scale overhauls, but rather small tweaks. Morgan can help with that.
“It’s about eating the things that you love to eat and just changing some of the ingredients,” she said. “That’s not hard to do when you think that you can have your cereal every day, but instead of cow’s milk you can have oat milk.”
During the COVID-19 shutdown, Morgan compiled more than 100 of her most approachable plant-based meals for her book.
“I based it on what people really wanted when they’re going plant-based,” she said. “It’s usually not that they don’t want to eat meat or skip the thing that reminds them of grandma or the things they grew up on.”
In that vein, she tries to recreate healthier versions of familiar foods. One of her most popular recipes is on the cover: fully loaded, decadent-looking nachos, covered with nut-based “cheese” you can whip right up in a Vitamix (recipe below).
Similar comfort foods are popular among her celebrity clients and athletes.
“If they say, ‘I’m dying for chicken and dumplings,’ I’ll say, ‘OK, I’m going to make some.'”
Her easy nacho “cheese” is a huge hit among clients and kids. It’s based on cashews, the cornerstone of the rich “cream” she also uses in her vodka sauce for pasta and a “lobster” bisque where lobster mushrooms stand in for shellfish. A splash of sherry makes it taste traditional.
But that’s somewhat advanced-level stuff. Morgan recommends starting simple when first cooking meat- and dairy-free at home.
For an easy vegan breakfast, start with overnight oats made with nondairy milk. We’ve provided three recipes below, which can be customized with different flavors, fruits and nuts.
For lunch, go decadent with that cheese sauce, which you can have over nachos, roasted veggies or mixed with plant-based ground meat and served over noodles, a take on chili mac that kids absolutely adore, Morgan said.
For the perfect cold-weather dinner, there’s Morgan’s chickpea masala served with basmati rice. Like all of her recipes, the one below can be adapted with different heat levels, extra veggies, or swapping tofu for the chickpeas. It’s all about learning how to play with your food, Morgan said.
“It’s also understanding that these things were put here for our nourishment and benefit and looking at the empowerment you get from eating healthier,” she said.
Morgan provided all recipes and headnotes. They’ve been lightly edited for length.
Chickpea tikka masala
Before I cut out meat, I would frequent Indian restaurants where I could be found chowing down on bowls of chicken tikka masala, sopping up every last bit of creamy, spiced tomato gravy with naan. Luckily, one of the many great things about Indian food is that it can be easily made vegan. Cashew heavy cream has all the richness of dairy and ghee. Serve this with steamed white or brown basmati, and vegan naan or roti (some ready-made frozen are vegan; be sure to check the label).
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
For the spice blend:
2 teaspoons fine pink Himalayan salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground Indian red chile powder, such as Kashmiri or deggi mirch, or substitute ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper and another ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
For the tikka masala:
3 tablespoons butter
Flavored coconut oil, such as Nutiva, or a neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1½-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced or grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can tomato purée
1½ cups vegetable broth or water
2 teaspoons coconut sugar
3 carrots, diced
2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained, if canned)
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup fresh or frozen okra, diced (no need to thaw if frozen)
1 cup cut fresh or frozen green beans (2-inch pieces; no need to thaw if frozen)
⅓ cup fresh or frozen peas (no need to thaw if frozen)
1 cup cashew heavy cream
⅓ bunch cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish
Hot cooked brown or white basmati rice
Instructions
Make the spice blend: In a small bowl, combine the salt, garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, and chile powder. Set aside.
Make the tikka masala: Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the spice blend. Toast the spices until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every few seconds to prevent burning. Add the tomato purée and cook, stirring, until fragrant and lightly caramelized, about 1 minute. Add the broth and sugar. Stir until smooth and all of the ingredients are well combined.
Add the carrots, chickpeas, cauliflower, okra and green beans. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking and to help them cook evenly. Stir in the peas.
Slowly whisk the cashew heavy cream into the tomato gravy. Simmer, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes to allow the flavors and cream to marry, stirring frequently. Add the chopped cilantro and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve over basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro.
Tip: Try using other vegetables, such as Yukon gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus or zucchini.
Nacho average nachos
My easy “all in a blender” homemade queso turns cashews into an explosively flavorful cheesy sauce with added depth from mild jalapeño, smoky chipotle chiles and good-quality salt to counteract the cashews’ sweetness. Finish it off with the zest and juice of a lime.
Serves 8
Ingredients
For the queso:
3 carrots, scrubbed and trimmed (no need to peel) and coarsely chopped
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
Tialapeño, stemmed and seeded, or 8 slices pickled jalapeño
2 garlic cloves
2 cups unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
2 cups raw cashews, soaked and drained
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons fine pink Himalayan salt, or to taste
⅓ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lime
For the nachos:
1 (16-ounce) bag tortilla chips
2 cups cooked beans (black pinto, red, or chili beans, rinsed and drained, if canned), or refried beans, warmed
2 cups plant-based chorizo or taco “beef” crumbles, browned
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
Optional garnishes: Pickled jalapeños, pickled or fresh sliced red onion, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado and/or guacamole, brazil nut sour cream, grilled and diced pineapple (yes, so good!), sliced scallions (green and white parts)
Tip: I usually add 1 chipotle and 1 seeded jalapeño to the queso and it’s mild enough for even my kids. If you’re a heat monster, feel free to add more. For a deeper, more fermented taste, add 1 heaping teaspoon white miso paste.
Instructions
Make the queso: In a high-speed blender, combine the carrots, chipotle chile, jalapeño, garlic, milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, onion powder, paprika, salt, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, turmeric and black pepper. Blend on high until completely smooth and the exterior of the blender is warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lime zest and juice and blend for 10 seconds. Taste for consistency and flavor. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Make the nachos: Arrange half of the tortilla chips on a large sheet pan or platter. Top with half of the queso, beans, and chorizo. Add the remaining tortilla chips, beans, chorizo and queso.
Top with the lettuce, tomato, and any garnishes (if using). Serve immediately.
Overnight oats trio
These no-cook overnight oats saved me from having to wake up at 4 a.m. each morning to make Derrick breakfast before he had to run off to practice. Instead of standing over a pot and cooking oatmeal for 30 minutes before dawn (for real), I mixed the raw oats with nondairy milk before going to bed. While I slept, the oats soaked in the fridge overnight until the liquid was absorbed and the oats were soft enough to eat.
These three versions are Derrick’s favorites, but the sky’s the limit when it comes to flavor combinations. Overnight oats can be served cold or warm and can be made up to 5 days in advance, so double, triple, or quadruple the recipe as needed.
Pour the milk into a 1-pint glass or ceramic jar with a lid. Add the sweetener, flavorings and any other additional ingredients, such as fruit. Place the lid on tightly and shake vigorously. Add the oats and shake again. Top with the desired toppings. Cover the jar tightly with the lid and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 5 days.
Pope Francis asks for prayers for ‘very sick’ predecessor Pope Benedict XVI
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The Vatican has said former Pope Benedict’s condition remains “grave” but stable, after Pope Francis said the former pontiff is “very ill”.
“The Pope Emeritus managed to rest well during the night, he is absolutely lucid and aware, and today, even though his condition remains grave, the situation is at the moment stable,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
The Vatican previously said that the deterioration in his health was due to his “advanced age” and added that Benedict was being constantly monitored by doctors.
Pope Francis had said on Wednesday: “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church. Let us remember him.
“He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end.”
The latest statement did not provide any specifics about Benedict’s condition, but Francis repeated a call for prayer to “accompany” Benedict “in these difficult hours”
Benedict, who is 95, became the first pope in some 600 years to resign in 2013. He has been living in the Vatican since then.
Former pope Benedict, who Pope Francis said on Wednesday was “very sick”, resigned in 2013, the first pontiff in 600 years to take such a step rather than rule for life.
For nearly 25 years, the former pope, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was the powerful head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). As a theological conservative, Mr Ratzinger left Germany and his post as archbishop of Munich in 1982 to head the CDF.
His disciplining of Latin American priests who promoted Marxist-influenced Liberation Theology bestowed him with the sobriquet “God’s Rottweiler”.
Pope Benedict XVI will be remembered as ‘one of the great theologians of the 20th century’
The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be remembered as “one of the great theologians of the 20th century”, as the 95-year-old former pontiff’s health worsens.
Speaking on Times Radio, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “I met Pope Benedict on quite a number of occasions, and he was a very sensitive, a very thoughtful person, who was a great theologian.
“He will be remembered as one of the great theologians of the 20th century.
“But he was always so courteous. When he came to this country in 2011 he was described as ‘God’s Rottweiler’, but by the time he left I think he was considered to be everybody’s great uncle.
“There was a real gentleness about him, and when I saw him just over a year ago, September last year, that hadn’t changed. He was very very weak, but very bright and very alert and very with it.
“It’s not surprising that his life would appear to be coming to an end, he is 95 and he has been poorly for quite a long time.”
Pope Benedict’s decision to resign in 2013 will remain ‘an exception’
The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said he believes that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s historic decision to resign from his post due to advancing age in 2013 will remain “an exception”.
Speaking on Times Radio, Cardinal Vincent Nichols also described the “great affinity” between the former pope and the late Queen, and his admiration for her continuing royal duties until the end.
On the former pope Benedict resigning his post, he said: “This is the first time in 600 years, so who knows what might develop. I think it will remain an exception myself.
“I think there was a great affinity between Pope Benedict and her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” he added.
“When Benedict decided to come to this country, he decided that the first thing he had to do was visit the Queen. And she was 95, she held her office to the end and I think he admired that very much.
“It was a measure of his self-understanding and the difficulties he was getting into physically as well that he said no, it needs somebody else to do this.”
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI shared a ‘great affinity’ with the late Queen, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said
The faithful in Benedict’s native Bavaria pray for his health
People in Pope Benedict XVI’s Bavarian homeland prayed Thursday for the retired pontiff, a favorite son of the region even 40 years after he left Germany for the Vatican and nearly a decade after his resignation stunned the world.
At the St. Oswald church in the small town of Marktl am Inn, where a future pope named Joseph Ratzinger was baptized more than 95 years ago, Sandra Maier, the lay head of the local congregation, put up a framed picture of Benedict, lit a red candle and arranged a small pew so parishioners could kneel and pray for him.
Maier, who was also baptized at the church, said she was “shaken and deeply moved by the news” from the Vatican on Wednesday that Benedict’s health had deteriorated. “I wish for him to have an easy time now and not suffer so much,” she said.
“We are proud here in Marktl that we have a Bavarian pope,” Maier, 50, said, recalling the two times she met him personally. “He’s a good man and was a great pope”
The German Catholic Church’s leadership called for prayers for Benedict after the Vatican’s announcement. “Pope Benedict XVI has prayed for us these many years; now let us pray for him,” said Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, a city where Ratzinger taught at the university in the 1970s.
Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau, the diocese where Marktl is located, said Benedict was alert but physically very weak when he saw him in November. “If he is now getting even weaker, it is easy to imagine that he is on the last stretch of his earthly way,” Oster said. “Please all accompany him in prayers.”
Vatican: Benedict XVI is lucid and stable, but his condition is ‘serious’
The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was lucid, conscious and stable, but that his condition remains serious a day after officials revealed that the 95-year-old’s health had deteriorated recently.
A statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis asks for continued prayers “to accompany him in these difficult hours.”
Former pope Benedict, who Pope Francis said on Wednesday was “very sick”, resigned in 2013, the first pontiff in 600 years to take such a step rather than rule for life.
For nearly 25 years, the former pope, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was the powerful head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). As a theological conservative, Mr Ratzinger left Germany and his post as archbishop of Munich in 1982 to head the CDF. His disciplining of Latin American priests who promoted Marxist-influenced Liberation Theology bestowed him with the sobriquet “God’s Rottweiler”.
Despite his reputation as a hardliner, his eight-year papacy was marked by missteps and scandal. He admitted a “lack of resolve in governing and decision taking.”
Read our profile of Pope Benedict from reporter Thomas Kingsley here:
Benedict’s condition is ‘grave but stable’, says Vatican
Former Pope Benedict’s condition remains “grave” but stable, the Vatican has said – adding in a statement that he had rested well during the night and was lucid and aware.
“The Pope Emeritus managed to rest well during the night, he is absolutely lucid and aware, and today, even though his condition remains grave, the situation is at the moment stable,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
“Pope Francis renews his request to pray for him and to accompany him in these difficult hours,” Bruni said of the 95-year-old former pontiff.
The statement, the second since Francis disclosed on Wednesday that his predecessor was “very sick”, did not provide any specifics about Benedict’s condition.
Cardinals from around the world have joined in prayer for Pope Benedict’s health.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, urged believers to ask “for the Lord’s grace to help sustain Pope Benedict as he has sustained the Church through his silent witness.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, asked the “Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese of New York” to join with him in prayer.
The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols prayed that God might “sustain and console him at this time”.
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk called on all those in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to pray for the emeritus Pope.
He said: “The whole Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church wants to unite in prayer around this great witness of our times, thanking him for his silent witness as Pope Emeritus and at the same time remembering and seeking to put into practice his work for the unity of the Church, which was an extraordinary feature of his pontificate.”
Archibishop Shevchuk, who met with Benedict on 10 November, said the Pope was “incredibly lucid, informed and solicitous about the situation in Ukraine, and had assured his prayers for the Ukrainian people.”
Former pope Benedict shared ‘great affinity’ with late Queen, says Cardinal
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI shared a “great affinity” with the late Queen, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said.
The 95-year-old former pope’s historic decision to resign due to age in 2013 will remain “an exception”, and he admired the Queen for continuing her royal duties until the end, according to Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
His comments came after the Vatican said the former pope’s health has worsened due to his age, and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition.
