Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles' visit

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said in a letter published Tuesday that his lengthy illness has helped make “more lucid” to him the absurdity of war, as his top deputy rejected any suggestion of resignation and Buckingham Palace announced plans for an upcoming audience with Britain's King Charles III.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a letter to the editor from Francis, signed and dated March 14 from Rome's Gemelli hospital where the 88-year-old pontiff has been treated since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection and double pneumonia.

In it, Francis renewed his call for diplomacy and international organizations to find a “new vitality and credibility.” And he said that his own illness had also helped make some things clearer to him, including the “absurdity of war.”

“Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills,” he wrote.

Responding to a letter from the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Luciano Fontana, Francis also urged him and all those in the media to “feel the full importance of words.”

“They are never just words: they are facts that shape human environments. They can connect or divide, serve the truth or use it for other ends,” he wrote. “We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the Earth.”

The letter was published as Francis registered slight improvements in his treatment and as the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, shot down any suggestion the pope might resign.

“Absolutely no,” Parolin told journalists on Monday when asked if he and the pope had discussed a resignation. Parolin has visited Francis twice during his hospitalization, most recently on March 2, and said he found Francis better than during his first Feb. 25 visit.

Also on Tuesday, Francis received a standing ovation from the Italian Senate, after Premier Giorgia Meloni sent her greetings and said “not just this chamber, but all of the Italian people″ wish the pope a full recovery “as soon as possible.”

Meloni, who was the first outsider to visit the pope after he was hospitalized, said that “even in a trying moment, his strength and guidance have been felt.”

Francis for the second day spent some time off high flows of oxygen and used just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said Tuesday. In addition, for the first time in several weeks he didn't use the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night at all, to force his lungs to work more.

While those amount to “slight improvements,” the Vatican isn’t yet providing any timetable on when he might be released. That said, Buckingham Palace announced Monday that King Charles III was scheduled to meet with Francis on April 8 at the Vatican, assuming he is back and well enough.

Such state visits are always closely organized with Parolin's office. However, the Vatican press office on Tuesday declined to confirm the visit, noting that the Holy See only confirms papal audiences shortly before they happen.

The developments came as the Vatican released some details on the first photograph of Francis released since his hospitalization. The image, taken Sunday from behind, showed Francis sitting in his wheelchair in his private chapel in prayer without any sign of nasal tubes.

The photo, showing Francis wearing a Lenten purple stole, followed an audio message the pope recorded March 6 in which he thanked people for their prayers, his voice soft and labored.

Together, they suggested Francis is very much controlling how the public follows his illness to prevent it from turning into a spectacle. While many in the Vatican have held up St. John Paul II’s long and public battle with Parkinson’s disease and other ailments as a humble sign of his willingness to show his frailties, others criticized it as excessive and glorifying sickness.

The image certainly reassured some well-wishers who came to Gemelli to pray for Francis, who is recovering in the 10th-floor papal suite reserved for popes.

“After a month of hospitalization, finally a photo that can assure us that his health conditions are better,” said the Rev. Enrico Antonio, a priest from Pescara.

But Benedetta Flagiello of Naples, who was visiting her sister at Gemelli, wondered if the photo was even real.

“Because if the pope can sit for a moment without a mask, without anything, why didn’t he look out the window on the 10th floor to be seen by everyone?” she asked. “If you remember our old pope (John Paul II), he couldn’t speak up, but he showed up.”

Associated Press writers Paolo Santalucia and Silvia Stellacci contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Candles and rosaries for Pope Francis are seen in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The sun shines over the statue of Pope John Paul II in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where Pope Francis is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The sun shines behind the statue of Pope John Paul II in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, where Pope Francis is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A nun holds a candle as she prays in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis prays in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful pray in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful pray in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE - Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti prays in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

This picture released by the Vatican Press Office shows Pope Francis concelebrating a mass inside his private chapel att the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Vatican Press Office, Via AP )

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul’s mayor — a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and terror links, media reported.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued warrants for some 100 other people. Authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.

The arrest came after a search of Ekrem Imamoglu's home, a day after a university invalidated his diploma, effectively disqualifying the popular opposition figure from running in the next presidential race. Having a university degree is a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.

The mayor’s party — the main opposition Republican People’s Party — is to hold a primary on Sunday where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections. Turkey’s next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, but early elections are likely.

“We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” Imamoglu said in a video message posted on social media. He accused the government of “usurping the will” of the people.

In nullifying Imamoglu’s diploma, Istanbul University cited alleged irregularities in his 1990 transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus to its Faculty of Business Administration. Imamoglu said he would challenge the decision.

The opposition leader faces multiple lawsuits, including allegations of trying to influence a judicial expert investigating opposition-led municipalities. The cases could result in prison sentences and a political ban.

Imamoglu is also appealing a 2022 conviction of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that could result in a political ban.

He was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019 in a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. The party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.

The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

FILE - Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu addresses his supporters in front of the Istanbul courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)