Catching up on the media coverage of the celebrations in Rome after
arriving home from there last evening, I thought I would share my own observations given the persistent attention to the pope’s physical condition. Pope John Paul celebrated the two-hour anniversary Mass on Thursday evening, including delivering the homily. Although his voice was strong throughout, his words would become indistinct with the effort of speaking. Still, it
was clear that he was fully engaged with the ceremony and with those
fortunate enough to approach him on the altar. At the conclusion of the
service, he remained in front of the crowd, waving to the thousands
calling out to him. On Sunday too, at the almost three-hour Mass for
the beatification of Mother Teresa, although his voice sometimes failed
him, he celebrated the Mass and acknowledged the faithful with obvious
pleasure. There was a concert in honor of his anniversary on Friday
evening that the pope clearly enjoyed. Again, he made his remarks
unassisted at its conclusion, having been earlier seen to be reviewing
his text. Finally, at a public audience on Monday afternoon, he
personally greeted about 30 individuals who had been close to Mother
Teresa, after addressing the crowd, and turned to give a strong wave to
the audience before departing the stage. Although the pope’s has been
physically weakened by Parkinson’s disease, it seems to me that the
breathless coverage about the state of the pope’s health is off the
mark. It discounts the inner strength and indomitable will of a
remarkable personality who can be expected to confound all the gloomy
predictions about his imminent demise.