Pope Francis remained in critical condition Monday but showed slight improvement in laboratory tests and resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began, the Vatican said. The Vatican's evening bulletin was more upbeat than in recent days, as the 88-year-old Francis battles pneumonia in both lungs. It said he hadn't had any more respiratory crises since Saturday and that the supplemental oxygen that he was using continued but with a slightly reduced oxygen flow and concentrations. The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was not causing alarm at the moment, doctors said, while saying his prognosis remained guarded. He received the Eucharist in the morning and resumed working in the afternoon. In the evening he called the parish priest of the Gaza parish to express his fatherly closeness, the statement said. For over a year, Francis has checked in daily via videocall with the Argentine priest,