Pope Leo Credits Doctors for Cancer Recovery on South America Flight

Pope Leo XIV said he was proud to vote as an American in the U.S. midterm elections, while declining to comment on the results; he said he would have voted in Peru if absentee voting had been possible. Speaking to journalists en route to South America, he said he had never doubted the trip would go ahead despite recent surgery to remove a lung tumor, and praised his medical team. Leo said the health experience deepened his commitment to the sick and to healthcare as a right, and encouraged people to seek regular checkups and not be afraid.