"‘Health scare’ confirms Pope Francis as church’s indispensable man" by John L. Allen Jr. | Globe Staff June 21, 2014
ROME — An old saying about the Vatican holds that the pope is never sick until he’s dead. It is a subject — pontiff’s health — on which Vatican officials come by their reputation for denial the old-fashioned way, because over the years they’ve certainly earned it.
On Aug. 19, 1914, for instance, the semiofficial Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published a stinging editorial denouncing unnamed commentators who had suggested the day before that the reigning pope at the time, Pius X, was suffering from a cold.
Less than 24 hours later, Pius X was dead.
More recently, despite the fact that speculation began to surface in the mid-1990s that Pope John Paul II might be suffering from the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, the Vatican never officially confirmed the ailment until shortly before the pontiff’s death.
Even in John Paul’s twilight, the effort to make the pope seem stronger than he actually was continued.
Also see:
Catholics still feel touch of John Paul II
Vial of blood from St. John Paul II is coming to Boston
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All this brings us to this week’s alleged “health scare” regarding Pope Francis, after news broke that the pontiff has canceled his general audiences and morning Masses for the month of July.
It came after Francis had taken a couple days off following his May 24-26 trip to the Holy Land, and shortly before the pope opted not to walk in a traditional Roman procession on Thursday as originally planned but rather to take a car to its conclusion.
Was Francis ailing?
Vatican assurances that all is well fell on predictably deaf ears. If anything, many observers took the statements almost as confirmation that something must be amiss.
In truth, sources close to the Argentine pontiff, and not just the usual Vatican suspects inclined to put a happy face on things, insist there is no health crisis.
Yes, they say, Francis has put on some weight since his election. Yes, his back bothers him at times, making it uncomfortable to sit for long periods and explaining the occasional grimaces one sees on his face. Yes, he wears orthopedic shoes and sometimes walks with difficulty, and yes, he famously is missing part of one lung.
On the whole, none of this is terribly out of the ordinary for a 77-year-old man, and none of it seems to be slowing Francis down.
On the day news of the purported health scare broke, the Vatican released the schedule for an intense six-day trip Francis is planning to take to South Korea from Aug. 13 to 8.
The Vatican has also confirmed that, as he did last year, Francis will not be taking the usual papal summer vacation in Castel Gandolfo in the cooler hills outside Rome, but will remain on the job in the Vatican.
For the record, Francis also canceled his audiences and morning Masses during July last year, meaning there’s nothing exceptional about this week’s announcement. Instead, this seems to be his new rhythm — a reduced schedule in July rather than August.
Those close to the pope say that if there’s a reason for concern, it’s not that anybody is hiding the truth about a secret illness but rather that Francis is simply wearing himself out.
Roman tradition, for instance, dictates that on Sundays you do only three things: you go to Mass, you eat, and you watch soccer. Consider what Francis has done instead on the last four consecutive Sundays:
Related: Soccer Sunday
I'm a good Catholic then! Two out of three ain't bad, especially when I have a sermon to say here every Sunday.
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Still, if no reason for concern except about over-exertion, why the kerfuffle last week over the pope’s health? To be honest, it may say less about the physical condition of Francis than the psychological condition of the rest of the world.
In 15 months, Francis has become something akin to the Catholic Church’s indispensable man.
For many Catholics, their hopes for a more compassionate and open church are invested in Francis. For many non-Catholics, Francis has become like a new Nelson Mandela, a source of moral authority and an icon of personal integrity.
One can argue whether those perceptions are accurate or deserved, but poll numbers and magazine covers alike say they’re real.
As a result, people are likely to overreact to any perceived sign of weakness out of fear that this “Roman spring” may be short-lived.
In other words, if this is how people react when the pope just needs a little down time, God help us when he’s really sick.
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"Pope tells mobsters they’re thrown out
CASSANO ALLO IONIO — Pope Francis has traveled to the heart of Italy’s biggest crime syndicate and declared that all mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church. At an outdoor Mass in Calabria, Francis denounced the syndicate for what he called its ‘‘adoration of evil and contempt for the common good.’’ The pope said, ‘‘Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated.’’ (AP)."
Same goes for bankers, right?
Related: Francis is Safe
But he is pissing off a lot of people who don't put up with that stuff.
