Pope nearing 'last days of his life'

A leading European cardinal said today that Pope John Paul was nearing “the last days and months of his life,” the latest prelate to express alarm over the 83-year-old pontiff’s health.

The remarks by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, who is considered a possible candidate for the papacy, came as John Paul’s closest aide sought to minimise concern over the pope’s health.

With the pope, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, looking increasingly weak over the past month, worry over his health has been mounting.

“The entire world is experiencing a pope who is sick, who is disabled and who is dying – I don’t know how near death he is – who is approaching the last days and months of his life,” said Schoenborn, 58, the Archbishop of Vienna .

The cardinal’s spokesman, Erich Leitenberger, said later that the comments were “to be interpreted philosophically.”

Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who has been serving as the pope’s secretary since John Paul was a cardinal in Poland, made a rare statement to reporters today while the pope was meeting the Lithuanian president.

Asked about the state of the pope’s health, Dziwisz referred to comments by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger that John Paul was “in a bad way” and that the faithful should pray for him.

“Cardinal Ratzinger was crying yesterday, explaining that he never gave an interview but merely answered someone he met on the street saying, ‘If the pope is sick, pray for him,”’ Dziwisz said.

“Many journalists who in the past have written about the pope’s health are already in heaven,” Dziwisz said.

The pope looked relaxed and alert during his meeting with President Rolandas Paksas, which lasted 15 minutes and was one of four appointments on the John Paul’s schedule today.

The Vatican announced that the pope will preside over the installation of 30 new cardinals the steps of St Peter’s Basilica on October 21. The following day, he will preside at a Mass with the cardinals in St Peter’s Square.

In Paris yesterday, the head of the governing body for the Catholic Church in France said John Paul is “very ill” but still able to lead.

“Things shouldn’t be hidden. This pope is very ill,” Bishop Stanislas Lalane said on Europe-1 radio. “But I assure you the Church is governed.”