Replies

'The pope is in really bad shape'

September 30 2003 at 04:04AM

By Peter Popham

Rome - Pope John Paul II is the hottest tip as winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to be announced in 10 days' time, but there are major fears for his health.

His appointment of 31 new cardinals on Sunday is being taken as a clear sign that his days are numbered, according to a Vatican insider.

The 83-year-old pontiff's health has deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. He has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for a decade, and speculation last week that he now also has cancer of the intestines has not been denied.

The director of the independent Peace Research Institute in Oslo said he believed the pope was the most likely Nobel winner, even though he thought the committee wanted a Muslim winner.

'No Muslim candidate sent a message of peace in Iraq to the same degree'
"No Muslim candidate sent a message of peace in Iraq to the same degree as the pope."

The pope was a staunch, often fiery opponent of the war. Despite his poor health, he mounted a sustained diplomatic campaign of resistance, sending envoys to both Baghdad and Washington.

Rumours of the Nobel award came one day after the pope made arrangements for what one insider called his "final sprint".

The decision to hold a consistory next month instead of in February as planned was interpreted by Vatican observers as a clear sign that John Paul knows his time is running out. A consistory is the process during which the appointment of new cardinals - the "princes" of the Catholic Church - is confirmed.

It is the conclave of cardinals, meeting a fortnight after a pope's death, that chooses the successor to St Peter's throne.

'The pope is reaching the end of the road'
An Italian Vatican expert wrote on Monday that the decision to hold the consistory four months ahead of schedule was strongly rumoured to have been at the insistence of the pope himself.

One of the newly appointed cardinals, Archbishop Phillippe Barbarin, of Lyons, France, told Europe 1 Radio on Monday: "The pope is reaching the end of the road. It's a big responsibility for us. The pope is in really bad shape."

He has forced himself forward through many years of his failing health by giving himself new goals.

The major milestones next month - his own jubilee and the beatification of Mother Teresa - may have given him the will to continue thus far.

Thus far, but perhaps no further.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on September 30, 2003