JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL

Four Swiss Guard Members Test Positive for COVID and Pope Francis Is Still Not Wearing a Mask

Pope Francis, who is missing part of one lung, was photographed with out a mask meeting Cardinal George Pell amid an outbreak among his security detail.

The Vatican press office announced Monday that four Swiss Guards had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total of positive cases to seven among Pope Francis’ personal security detail. The news came as photos of a maskless pontiff standing shoulder-to-shoulder with an equally unmasked Cardinal George Pell, who returned to Rome last week after spending more than two years fighting historic clerical abuse charges in his native Australia. Last week, the 83-year-old pontiff, who is missing part of a lung from a childhood infection, raised eyebrows among Vatican observers for his seeming reluctance to wear a face covering when he is in crowds or in close proximity to other people.