Rumors abound this year that Pope Benedict is tired, out of touch, and rarely filled with the energy needed to be engaging or even in charge of the Church.
The Associated Press wire service is reporting that Pope Benedict is disengaged, rarely meeting with bishops, and now in need of a platform to carry him instead of walking down St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Pope will turn 85 in 2012…and with past statements that Benedict has made when he was Cardinal Raztinger, the issue is even more controversial: He said that if popes can’t do the job, they should resign the papacy.
No word from Rome on resignations, though.
Back at home, however, it seems the daily grind of being pope _ the audiences with visiting heads of state, the weekly public catechism lessons, the sessions with visiting bishops _ has taken its toll. A spark is gone. He doesn’t elaborate off-the-cuff much anymore, and some days he just seems wiped out.
The spark is gone… over. Out.
A few years ago a protester wearing red leaped out of the audience at a Christmas Eve service to rush the pope before being taken down by guards…
This year, it is questionable if the Pope would need the guards since his platform does the work his legs once did.
The Catholic Church has been down this road of sick popes before. Rumors flew in the early 2000s about John Paul II … constant news of death and illness. Until a dove appeared above his head and days later he died.
Benedict is 85 years young in ’12.
Long live Benny.