Vatican official admit Pope has Parkinsons

A top Vatican official acknowledged today what many observers have long suspected: that Pope John Paul suffers from Parkinson’s disease. But he said the Pontiff’s prayers had helped him cope with the degenerative neurological disorder.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation of Bishops, made the comments in an interview with the Milan daily Corriere della Sera on the eve of the Pope’s 83rd birthday. It was the first time a top Vatican official had publicly acknowledged the pontiff suffers from Parkinson’s.