Pope’s ill health rekindles debate on ability to lead
‘For the first time in his 26-year papacy, Pope John Paul II will not lead the Sunday blessing known as ”the Angelus” today, Vatican officials said, because doctors have advised that he should not speak while recovering from surgery to assist his breathing.
His silence marks a profound moment in his papacy, Vatican officials and Catholic theologians say, reflecting a shift in which the frail, 84-year-old pope will be physically unable to lead the world’s 1 billion Catholics.
For some Catholics, the recent deterioration of John Paul’s health has put a sharp focus on whether he is still able to preside over the day-to-day functioning of the church and whether he should step aside as his health further declines from Parkinson’s disease exacerbated by the flu.
”We are going to have more of these hospital emergencies, that is the nature of Parkinson’s. So questions are raised, ‘Is the pope up to it?’ ” said the Rev. Keith Pecklers, an American Jesuit and a theology professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.’
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