Trouble In The Vatican

Trouble In The Vatican

The Pope may have made it to India last year but he doesn't seem to be in too good nick in the new millennium. Reports suggest that The Vatican has not been the same since the soon-to-be-80 Pope has been struck by Parkinson's disease. According to John Cornwell, a Cambridge academic and author quoted in The Sunday Times, the Pope spends most of his time resting now and goes to sleep by 6 p.m.

Unable to speak properly any more, even the Levodopa drug barely keeps the declining health in check. Though the Polish-born Pope John Paul II was an excellent swimmer and skier, several falls have rendered him practically immobile. Sources say that this decline of the Pope's health ``has left a power vacuum in the Vatican in which affairs are dominated by Opus Dei'', the extreme right-wing faction that has taken over important segments of The Vatican administration. Even the small number of women working at the Vatican are facing hostility. One former secretary used to be locked up in her office by her boss every day.

Theologians suspect rightwingers of using the Pope as a mouthpiece and his integrity is also being questioned as one Jesuit theologian accuses the Pope of ``rank heresy''. This occurred when the Pope contradicted the orthodox doctrine. Conservative cardinals have also raised opposition to the Pope's apology for the past sins of the church, with its one billion followers. Moreover many young people are detaching themselves from the church because of the Pope's strong opinions on divorce and birth control. All this recently led to Karl Lehmann, a German bishop, raising the option of the Pope stepping down.