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For
God's sake, let Pope John Paul II retire
Pope
John Paul II is old, he is tired and his
health is failing. It is time to let the
man retire.
On
Feb. 24, he was rushed to the hospital and
given a tracheostomy to help him breathe.
The 84-year-old is constantly being rushed
in and out of hospitals lately. He has suffered
from Parkinson's disease for more than 10
years, had a serious bout of the flu and
is now having trouble breathing on his own
due to a trachea inflammation caused by
the flu.
Pope
John Paul II has done a lot of good in his
lifetime. He has brought hope to countries
that where previous popes had not visited.
He often left the Vatican to make appearances
all over the world.
As
the head of the Catholic Church, he must
be in good health to bring energy and enthusiasm
to the religion. The Catholic Church is
a very traditional religion. Pope John Paul
II was able to update the Church a little
by incorporating video and satellite. Most
of the Church's traditions have continued
through the decades. One of the oldest traditions
is that the pope is a lifetime position.
The pope's retirement would not help change
that fact, but it would be good for the
man to finally get some rest and relaxation
after a lifetime of serving people.
His
health problems are interfering with his
work. The pope has been unable to make his
weekly window greetings for fear of his
health. Instead, he was broadcast in six
languages to the crowd through video Thursday.
The pope also missed the Mass on Ash Wednesday
and was absent from a meeting Thursday to
canonize five saints.
He
may be mentally up to the challenge, but
his frail body is begging for relaxation.
The Vatican is trying to make him seem healthy
and well, down-playing his illnesses with
showy rides home from the hospital, but
honestly, the man is old and sick. He needs
care without the constraints of his constant
work.
Attendance
in the Church has gone down in recent years,
and the pope's traditionalism has not done
much to gain members. His presence in the
Vatican is expected though, and it would
upset his followers if he stepped down before
his death. No pope has stepped down since
Pope Gregory XII in 1415, who left to save
the Church during the Great Schism.
The
belief is that the pope is chosen by God,
and so should remain in his post until God
calls him to heaven.
Pope
John Paul II has been extremely dedicated
to his work. He probably feels the need
to retain his post, fulfilling the tradition
of the church and working until he is stopped
by death.
In
this matter, the Catholic Church should
update their position. Throughout history,
man has been living longer. Popes did not
live with the help of medicine and technology,
but now technology can prolong the body's
time on earth.
Because
of our growing life-span, Church officials
should be allowed to step down when their
time has come. There are no Church laws
stating what should happen if the pope is
incapacitated by illness or disease.
It
is time for the pope to retire, and let
someone else take his place in the Vatican.
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