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PERSPECTIVES:
Pope's Health Crisis
March 4, 2005 Episode no. 827
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KIM LAWTON, guest anchor: Vatican officials this week said Pope John Paul II's health is "progressively improving," but he will remain in Rome's Gemelli hospital indefinitely. John Paul's spokesman said it was possible he will return to the Vatican in time for Easter celebrations on March 27. The pope skipped his weekly Wednesday audience, but the Vatican says he has been attending to church business from his hospital room. Several cardinals met with him there and say he appeared mentally sharp and has started speaking again.
This second health crisis in a month has sparked renewed discussion -- and concern -about the issues raised when the pope gets seriously ill. Joining us now from New York is Father Thomas Reese, editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America.
Father Reese, welcome.
LAWTON: The Vatican says the work of the Church is indeed moving forward, but is there a point at which a prolonged hospital stay might hinder things a little bit?
Reverend THOMAS J. REESE (Editor-in-Chief, America Magazine): Well, a prolonged stay could cause difficulties. In any organization, the man at the  top is the one who gets all the tough decisions. And if the pope doesn't have the strength or the energy to meet with people, to read documents, then he's going to have to rely on the people who surround him. These are people that he trusts, that he has confidence in, that understand where he's coming from, the way he thinks. So, you know, this could go on for awhile. But still, it would be a narrow group of people who would be having access to the pope.
LAWTON: Well, speaking of that narrow group, only a small number have been able to visit the hospital -- what are the implications of that?
Rev. REESE: Well, if for example, one of the things that the pope has to do is appoint bishops. If, you know, they come in to him and say, "Here, your holiness, is the list of 20 bishops that we think should be appointed," and, if he doesn't have the energy to read the background documents, to study the names, he's going to say, "Well, are these good men?" And they say yes, and he says okay and signs his name.
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The same thing could happen with documents that are issued from the Vatican. This is very different from early in his papacy when he was actually writing encyclicals himself and was meeting with lots of people, discussing issues and getting input from all sorts of people. So, it's a different kind of papacy.
LAWTON: We heard the news last week that the pope had been on a respirator for a time, although now they say he is recovering well from the tracheotomy. But just the image of a pope on a respirator raises all sorts of questions about medical decisions and problems if they were, you know, to lead to some kind of incapacitation. What is the Church situation for that?
Rev. REESE: Well, we don't know who makes decisions for the pope when he is unconscious for medical purposes. We presume it's Archbishop Dziwisz, his personal secretary. But the Vatican has never clarified that.  You know, we would have serious problems if the pope went into a coma. You know, as long as he is conscious, he of course can resign -- that's permitted under Church law. And if he came to the conclusion for the good of the Church he needed to step aside, he would do that because he has always done what's good for the Church. But, if he's unconscious and in a coma, we have nothing like the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which provides for how we deal with a president who becomes disabled. So, this would cause a real constitutional crisis in the Catholic Church, because we wouldn't know what to do.
LAWTON: Do we have any idea if the pope has left instructions for these kinds of situations?
Rev. REESE: Well, there's a rumor that the pope has left a secret document to indicate what should happen if he becomes disabled. The Code of Canon Law -- the 1983 Code of Canon Law calls for special legislation. But, it's been over 20 years, and nobody's gotten around to writing the legislation to deal with this circumstance. We really need a public church law to deal with this, not a secret document, you know. A secret document is not a way to run a 1.1 billion member organization.
LAWTON: Father Thomas Reese, thank you very much.
Rev. REESE: You're welcome.
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Related R&E Material:
 Pope's Health, September 14, 2003
State of Pope John Paul II's Health, January 4, 2002
Papal Succession, June 8, 2001
Papal Resignation, January 14, 2000
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Related Reading:
"How a Pope's Illness Affects the Church" by Thomas J. Reese in AMERICA, February 28, 2005
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Related Links:
America Magazine: Papal Transition
London Telegraph: "Pope starts therapy to regain voice," March 1, 2005
USA Today: "Half of Catholics say pope should serve until he dies" by Cathy Lynn Grossman, February 28, 2005
Houston Chronicle: "Papal Uncertainty" by Tara Dooley, February 25, 2005
CBS News: "Pope has option to resign," February 24, 2005
BBC News: "Pope health poses Vatican dilemma" by Peter Gould, February 9, 2005
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