Is the pope out of danger? No. Both doors are open. Is he at risk of immediate death? No. The therapy needs time to work,” Sergio Alfieri, a surgeon who has operated on the pope in the past, said during a press conference on Friday.

While Pope Francis battles pneumonia in hospital, work at the Vatican, headquarters of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church, continues apace. Although certain doctrinal matters require the pope's direct attention,

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalised for a week with a complex lung infection, is in a critical condition, the Vatican said in its latest update