Word: healthful
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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When John Paul proclaimed that he was taking the yoke that Christ had placed on "our fragile shoulders," everyone thought he was speaking figuratively and out of characteristic humility. So cheerful was he, so steady of hand, that hardly anyone thought about his health. Detroit's John Cardinal Dearden, who himself survived a heart attack, recalls that John Paul's health was never mentioned in the conclave. One historian wondered if the Cardinals might not be submerged in guilt over the affliction of the man they put in office. Did the pressures of the job exact a sudden toll...
John Paul's brother Edoardo, in Australia on a trade mission, reported that the Pope had been given a clean bill of health after a medical examination three weeks ago. He was frail in health as an infant and as a young priest, but there were no reports of heart trouble. Since taking office he had driven himself, and had expected Vatican officials to arrive at their desks promptly each morning. One veteran in the Curia, however, speculates on possible emotional strain: "It could have been something to do with passing from responsibility for a relatively small diocese...
John Paul's unexpected death may also weigh in the conclave's choice. The health of a potential candidate will surely become a much more serious consideration. Professor Enrique Miret Magdalena of Madrid's University Institute of Theology has suggested that papal candidates should have a complete medical checkup, "just as you would do with someone considered for an important job in secular life." John Paul's fate may change attitudes toward the ages of papabili as well. Hitherto there has been an age "window" for candidates, ranging from the early 60s to the mid-70s, mainly because Cardinals feared...
...Naples, he visited the hospitals each day, personally giving the last rites to a dying woman. He annually leads clergy and lay people to the Anglican church in Naples for ecumenical services on Holy Saturday; he maintains cordial relations with the city's Communist administration. In sturdy good health despite his age, Ursi had a small core of support in the last election. If some former Luciani admirers shift to him, he could be ahead of the conservative bloc even on the first ballot. The frequently mentioned fact that he speaks only Italian and has never served outside Italy should...
...Salvatore Pappalardo could surmount that prejudice. A keen-minded Vatican diplomat who entered the Secretariat of State along with Giovanni Benelli, Pappalardo served early on as a secretary to Monsignor Montini, later Pope Paul VI. Eventually he became Paul's pronuncio to Indonesia, where the tropical climate sapped his health. Forced to return to Italy, he headed the school that trains Vatican diplomats. (His health is now fine.) In 1970 Paul named him to the See of Palermo. There he swiftly quieted a city badly divided among quarreling Mafia, Communist and Christian Democrat factions. He worked to aid emigrants' families...