Vatican's foreign minister calls Leo's cancer a game changer but still sees a UK trip ahead

The story

The Vatican's top diplomat admits the news about Pope Leo's health caught everyone off guard. Archbishop Paul Gallagher said staff were maybe taking the pope a little bit for granted and that the diagnosis will make things a bit different.

Leo, 71, had the lower lobe of his right lung removed at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday. The operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer. Doctors say the surgery went without complications.

Gallagher, who comes from Liverpool and has run the Vatican's foreign relations since 2014, pointed out that after the wheelchair years of Pope Francis, Leo arrived looking fit and active. Now, he said, things have to be sorted out.

The latest updates from his doctors are upbeat. Blood tests and chest X rays show steady improvement, he is doing breathing exercises, and he is handling daily tasks on his own. He has been saying Mass in a room set up on the hospital's tenth floor and is expected to lead Sunday prayers.

Gallagher also said a visit to Britain is still on the table. Leo is only starting to look at what he might do in 2027, and the archbishop said trips like that take a lot of planning. No date has been set for his discharge.