The Vatican says Pope Francis, who is hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state and his deputy to approve new decrees for saints and call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonization.

For centuries, one of the biggest taboos at the Vatican was openly discussing the pope's health. As leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the pope is a revered spiritual figure. Talking about his earthly health was profane.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state to approve new decrees for saints and call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonization, the Vatican said Tuesday.