T
thechrismyster
Guest
I know this has been said before with many false alarms, but the Holy Father looks really bad lately… everyone keep him in your prayers…
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Pope John Paul’s health has deteriorated and the head of the Roman Catholic Church may be near the end of his life, a Belgian cardinal was quoted as saying on Monday.
Pope John Paul, 84, who has Parkinson’s disease and severe arthritis, wound up an emotional visit to the French miracle shrine of Lourdes on Sunday.
A crowd of about 200,000 listened to his words from a field in the shadow of the basilica built over a grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a peasant girl in 1858.
“It was one of the most moving celebrations ever,” Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who is seen as a leading contender to succeed John Paul, was quoted as saying in the Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws.
“The Pope’s health has seriously weakened. When the Pope says: ‘I end my pilgrimage here’, that could mean two things. That, at least was how people listening to him in the field interpreted it. It was almost his goodbye to Lourdes and maybe also to his life,” Danneels added.
The Pope, whose speech is often hard to understand, no longer walks in public and has to be wheeled around in a special chair.
It is not the first time his frailty on a foreign trip has fuelled speculation over how long he has left to live. During a visit to Slovakia last September, he was so weak his aides had to read most of his speeches. Many people believed then that he would not travel again.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Pope John Paul’s health has deteriorated and the head of the Roman Catholic Church may be near the end of his life, a Belgian cardinal was quoted as saying on Monday.
Pope John Paul, 84, who has Parkinson’s disease and severe arthritis, wound up an emotional visit to the French miracle shrine of Lourdes on Sunday.
A crowd of about 200,000 listened to his words from a field in the shadow of the basilica built over a grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a peasant girl in 1858.
“It was one of the most moving celebrations ever,” Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who is seen as a leading contender to succeed John Paul, was quoted as saying in the Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws.
“The Pope’s health has seriously weakened. When the Pope says: ‘I end my pilgrimage here’, that could mean two things. That, at least was how people listening to him in the field interpreted it. It was almost his goodbye to Lourdes and maybe also to his life,” Danneels added.
The Pope, whose speech is often hard to understand, no longer walks in public and has to be wheeled around in a special chair.
It is not the first time his frailty on a foreign trip has fuelled speculation over how long he has left to live. During a visit to Slovakia last September, he was so weak his aides had to read most of his speeches. Many people believed then that he would not travel again.