VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has said that the reports about Cardinal Pietro Parolin suffering a health scare are “not true.”

Bruni told reporters at the Vatican on Friday that Parolin did not suffer health problems or require medical support, contradicting earlier reports.

Italian journalist Nico Spuntoni reported on Wednesday that Parolin has suffered a brief health scare due to sudden elevated blood pressure levels.

Sources within the Holy See allegedly said Parolin fainted at the end of the General Congregation at the Vatican on the afternoon of April 30, prompting concerns about his health. The 70-year-old cardinal was reportedly joined by a medical team that assisted him for about an hour, but he was said to be out of danger and not suffer any long-term effects from the incident.

Parolin is considered one of the leading papal candidates. He is seen as a liberal who would likely carry on the legacy of the deceased Pope Francis. Parolin is a longtime diplomat and was the Vatican Secretary of State under Francis.

Join Bishop Strickland’s novena for a holy pope:

Parolin is known for overseeing the Vatican’s infamous China deal, first approved by Pope Francis in 2018, which allows the Chinese Communist government to appoint Catholic bishops and which is widely credited with exacerbating anti-Catholic persecution in the country. Cardinal Joseph Zen, the renowned former bishop of Hong Kong, has repeatedly slammed Parolin for his involvement in the deal, calling him “not a man of faith” and accusing him of “murdering the Church in China” and encouraging schism.

Parolin is additionally reported to have played a “key role” in the creation of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ document largely banning the Traditional Latin Mass, and reportedly pressed for even further restrictions. Moreover, the Italian prelate has praised Francis’ 2019 Abu Dhabi declaration, which claims that God “wills” false religions, and has distorted Catholic teaching on contraception.

Parolin has also been a prominent supporter of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ controversial apostolic exhortation purporting to allow divorced and civilly “remarried” people to receive Holy Communion without living in chastity. Parolin has described the heterodox document as a “great gift for the Church” and part of Francis’ “new paradigm.”