Of course I know that Alzheimer’s isn’t a sudden onset disease. I know people with the disease. I’m saying that he may have been having symptoms for a while, and that he may be at the stage where he is still funcitional at this point, but knows his mind is deteriorating and his decision making and day to day functions may be compromised as the disease progresses. Ronald Reagan delivered a great speech at the 1992 Republican convention, but not long after that dropped out of public sight when he announced he had Alzheimer’s.
The fact that he is not going to issue the encyclical now as Pope feeds more into my hunch. His spokesman says that he will issue it as a private citizen. I believe it is a promise that will fall by the wayside. Only time will tell.
Again, he can’t have any debilitating symptoms now if he is delivering unscripted complex talks, so your speculation is without evidence.