....Greg Burke, the Vatican’s senior communications adviser, said the pacemaker was fitted roughly 10 years ago — a period when Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was the head of the Vatican’s main doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
So he isn’t stepping down for all sorts of evil reasons? What will the media do?
A heart pacemaker? As opposed to a liver pacemaker?
What I find more interesting than all these resigning popes (which I don’t consider a big deal) is the story of John Paul I...the smiling pope.
well they better handle this thing smartly because everybody is used to Popes leaving office feet first when they’re stone cold dead. With all the scandal hitting the Catholic Church, no wonder folks are thinking along conspiracy theory lines.
He’s too pooped to pope, so he’s generously making way for a more vigorous replacement.
I'm forgetting my manners.
I haven't invited you over lately, so THIS is just for you.
Hey, it’s hard work covering for pedophiles...
Good grief! The man is old, feels old and knows that a younger man would be able to do the role as well or better than him.
My father is 83 and has a pacemaker and is in generally good health. I asked him how he would like to have the pace at which Benedict works, with the travel and constant meetings and greetings, not to mention the supervision of Papal documents and his own writing. My dad said, "I don't know how he keeps up with it all. Just thinking about what he does leaves me exhausted."
Before pacemakers pope's just died. There are enough good, younger, healthy men for the Holy Spirit to chose from.
For the past few papal elections there has always been buzz in the press (wishful thinking) about some uber-liberal cardinal getting the nod and ushering the church into a new era of enlightenment where values are relative,judgement is considered mean, "dogma" is set aside in favor of reaching out" and "inclusivness" and the church openly embraces liberation theology (a.k.a. marxism dressed in religous robes) but they've been disappointed when snarling conservative pontiffs like JP II and Benedict (whom the smeared with Nazi innuendo as "the panzer pontiff") have gotten in instead.
Perhaps Benedict wanted to ensure that the legacy of he and his mentor is not wiped aside by some John XXIII wannabe.
One person who got his first pacemaker in 1968 has gone through 12 of them and is still doing well.