Rome: Pope Francis, currently undergoing treatment for pneumonia, will need lengthy rehabilitation to restore speech, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said. "I had an opportunity to talk to him, and I am happy because I knew that his body might react this or that way, and eventually I was right, because physically he is feeling well. Now he need rehabilitation, because after a long time with the intensive oxygen flow, everything goes dry and then you need to almost learn to speak again," the cardinal said at an event in Rome on Friday.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Fernandez noted that now the Pope speaks with difficulty, but is remaining in the same condition. At the same time, the cardinal dismissed suggestions that Pope Francis might retire and said that in his opinion he will not be sent home from hospital before Easter. "He might return, but the doctors want to be 100% sure and want to wait for a while," Fernandez said.

On Wednesday, the Holy See said that the pope no longer needs ventilation at night and improvements in physical therapy continue. On March 6, the pontiff recorded an audio message in which he thanked people for their prayers for his recovery. The pope was admitted to Rome's Gremelli Hospital on February 14 where he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and double pneumonia.