Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, underwent medical examinations on his heart and kidneys at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic in the United States on Monday.
“Doctors will assess the pope’s state of health over several hours after undergoing the medical examination,” a church source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the pope had suffered from pains in his left leg before traveling. The pope undergoes periodic dialysis treatment.
The trip to Cleveland has caused some disruption to the pope's schedule in Egypt. “The Pope will not attend the Epiphany celebrations, scheduled for Thursday,” said the source, adding that the pope’s secretaries will update people on his health soon.
Meanwhile, the state-run news agency MENA quoted a church source as saying that the medical team that has been supervising the pope’s health condition for years asked him to visit the US after he suffered health problems following Christmas celebrations and his participation in a conference at Al-Azhar.
The source added that the medical examination may last for several weeks.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
