Pope Brain Tumor Report Is `A Complete Lie,' Vatican Says

  • Quotidiano Nazionale newspaper says pope has `small tumor'
  • Vatican calls the Italian news report `absolutely baseless'

Pope Francis

Photographer: Olivier Douliery/Pool via Bloomberg
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The Vatican described as “a complete lie” and “absolutely baseless” an Italian online newspaper report that Pope Francis has a small brain tumor.

The report in the Quotidiano Nazionale newspaper said that a “small tumor” was discovered in the pontiff’s brain several months ago and that it can be cured without surgery, while the report did not identify who provided the information.