Italian newspaper carries exclusive report of a curable brain tumour.

The Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi has denied a report that Pope Francis has a benign and curable brain tumor.

The report was carried by QN, Quotidiano Nazionale, a consortium of three regional Italian newspapers.

However during his weekly Wednesday audience Pope Francis made a special reference to the suffering of those who are ill and for them to follow the example of Pope John Paul II during his long illness at the end of his life.

Pope Francis has a heavy programme ahead, which includes the end of the controversial synod on the family and a six-day visit to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic at the end of November.

Photo: AP