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Reuters
Reuters
World
By Philip Pullella

Former pope Benedict 'very sick', Pope Francis calls for prayers

FILE PHOTO: Former pope Benedict (R) is greeted by Pope Francis during a ceremony to mark his 65th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood at the Vatican June 28, 2016. Osservatore Romano/Handout via Reuters

(This Dec. 28 story has been corrected to say 'members of the LGBTQ+ community', instead of 'gays', in paragraph 8)

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict, a hero to conservative Catholics and who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is "very sick", his successor Pope Francis said on Wednesday, asking Church members to pray for him.

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