Pope's cancer is a 'gamechanger' for papacy, Vatican foreign minister says

Pope Leo's lung ‌cancer diagnosis and ​surgery has affected how Catholics view his health and papacy, the Vatican's ‌foreign minister said on Tuesday. "It's a bit of a gamechanger," Archbishop Paul Gallagher told journalists at an event in ‌Rome.

Leo, 71, had part of one lung removed in ‌surgery on October 13. His doctors have said the cancer was localized and had not spread, and the pope will not require further ⁠treatment. Gallagher ​said that ⁠given Leo's relatively young age for a pope and his physical fitness, ⁠some Catholics had thought he was a "Superman" pope.

The illness revealed that ​Leo "is a poor mortal like the rest of us," ⁠said the archbishop. Separately, Gallagher also addressed the recent ceasefire agreed by Russia ⁠and ​Ukraine to allow aid into the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky.

He said that while Leo had recently ⁠spoken with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, ⁠he did ⁠not believe the Vatican was involved in arranging the ceasefire. "I don't think we were," said ‌Gallagher.