Word: pontiffs
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...Pope John Paul II prepares to celebrate a quarter-century as Pontiff on Oct. 16, Vatican officials are growing increasingly concerned about his weakening physical condition. On a trip to Slovakia that ended a week ago, the Pope, 83, could finish no more than a few sentences of his opening remarks at the Bratislava airport. Vatican insiders say the apparent effects of Parkinson's disease have become more difficult for the Pope's doctors to control with medication. "They no longer are able to predict how he will be from one day to the next," said one longtime Vatican observer...
Shooing away rumors that he might soon step down from the lifetime charge, Vatican officials insist that the Pope is still sharp mentally. But even his staunchest defenders now concede that Parkinson's disease and an accumulation of other physical trials have left the Pontiff, 82, in an increasingly deteriorating condition. Adding long breaks and naps in what were once 17-hour workdays, the Pope has been forced to yield control of much of the Vatican's daily operations. But to whom...
...first non-Italian Pope in more than four centuries, John Paul II made sure to bring along from Cracow his trusted personal secretary, Monsignor Stanislaw Dziwisz (pronounced Geevish), who started working for him in 1966. When the Pope was shot in 1981, it was Dziwisz who caught the fallen Pontiff in his arms--and he has been by the Pope's side ever since. Dziwisz sleeps next door to the Pope's bedroom, stands just over the Pope's shoulder during Mass and, apart from certain one-on-one meetings, is with the Pope virtually every waking moment...
...loving head of the Roman Catholic Church. And in an era of drab, utilitarian uniforms, few recruits start their service in feathered helmets, blue-yellow-and-red tunics and pantaloons reportedly designed by Michelangelo. As members of the Vatican's élite Swiss Guard, the recruits will protect the Pontiff, as well as ensure security at the Apostolic Palace and the four main entrances to the Vatican, an around-the-clock job that requires skills as diverse as fluency in Italian and proficiency in martial arts. Swiss Guards have been the beneficiaries of papal blessings and colorful garb since...
Theoretically, authority in the church is exercised by the Pope in conjunction with his bishops. Time was when decrees of the Pontiff or the hierarchy on any issue were obediently accepted by Catholic Americans, as if they were the laws of God. No longer. In matters of faith as well as morals, Catholics seem to be making up their own minds...Many Catholics have come to like their new independence, and even many priests agree that on balance, it may be a good thing...Is it a mission of the Catholic Church to serve the purposes of liberty? Perhaps...