'He's not even afraid': Pope Francis remains calm in the face of brain tumor and jailed priest rumors

'He's a man of prayer. He is a man of God. And so he's never disappointed by this kind of thing.'

Pope Francis has suffered several disturbances within the Catholic church, such as brain tumor and jailed priest rumors, and only days before the big bishop meeting on family life, a monsignor from the Vatican's doctrine office announced his homosexual lifestyle -but the pontiff was able to take it all in stride and continue with his daily activities seemingly without a care in the world.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Continued drama at the Vatican - including accusations of leaked confidential information - have ruffled the feathers of several officials, but Pope Francis continues to participate in soup kitchens and plans for his Kenya, Uganda trip.

French news reports have released information concerning the upcoming Ugandan papal visit, saying soldiers working as peacekeepers among a surge of violence in the Central African Republic will be unable to provide extra protection for the pontiff. 

The violence has grown so dangerous that elections have been delayed and Pope Francis was forced to admit the possibility of having to cancel the trip. 

Earlier this week the pontiff released a mission statement claiming the church prefers solidarity with the poor and oppressed to power, prestige and money. The timing of his statement could not have been better, as it was announced the former abbot of the Montecassino monastery was under investigation for allegedly stealing 500,000 euros ($500,000) to stay at five-star hotels and eat oyster and champagne meals.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, and Pope Francis' close collaborator, said, "He's not even afraid because he knows what he is doing. He's a man of prayer. He is a man of God. And so he's never disappointed by this kind of thing."

Unfortunately, negative connotations to the pontiff have been streaming in by radical conservatives who continue to claim the Pope's ideas are the result of his age or health.

In a phone interview, Massimo Faggioli - Italian historian - said, "Italian media, especially television and newspapers, are an integral part of the political system. We know there is strong opposition to Pope Francis in some quarters, so what is happening, what has been published, is part of that resistance."

An excellent example of the "resistance" is when a rumor was spread that a Japanese brain cancer specialist flew to the Vatican and discovered the pontiff had a small brain tumor that could be removed without surgery. The story was completely fabricated and both the Vatican and the doctor, whose name was used without his permission, denied the validity of the statements.

Faggioli said, "The brain tumor report is a symptom that they want us to think that this pope is doing things because he's losing his mind, that he doesn't have too long. It didn't work, but it tells you something about the environment."

In bright contrast to the rumors, document leaks have helped expose those who abuse their office in the Vatican and strengthens the pope's goal of "rooting out the rot."

Cardinal Pietro Parolin told Vatican Radio, "Changing things is always difficult because we're always tempted to continue in the daily ho-hum way we do things." He continued, saying the key was to "transform what can be normal resistance in the face of change into the tools for reform."

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