The late Pope John Paul II’s secretary yesterday criticized papal successor Benedict XVI for being a quitter — noting that John Paul remained on the job while dying from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease.
John Paul “led the church to the end because he was convinced that one doesn’t come down from the cross,” said Stanislaw Cardinal Dziwisz of Cracow, Poland.
Ironically, “In those decisions, he had always sought advice from [Joseph] Cardinal Ratzinger,” Dziwisz said, referring to the current pope by his given name.
Pope John Paul II died in 2005 while serving as pontiff at the age of 84.
Dziwisz’s sharp criticism came as the Vatican confirmed that Benedict, 85, had a heart pacemaker implanted a decade ago — before he became leader of the Catholic Church in 2005. Benedict — who shocked the world Monday by announcing he’d resign his papacy at the end of the month — secretly had its battery replaced three months ago.
That surgery led him to “question himself with simplicity and decisiveness over his capacity to guide the ship of St. Peter,” sources told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
Church officials insisted neither Benedict’s weak heart nor any other specific disease led to the pontiff’s stunning resignation.
“It was a routine operation. He already had a pacemaker. This had nothing to do with the decision of the Holy Father,” said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
Benedict himself cited his “advanced age,” and his “deteriorating” mental and physical strength in his decision to resign.
“We need to understand the motivation of the Holy Father: his age and health,” Cardinal Dziwisz said. “As a man of great responsibility, he decided to leave.”
Within weeks of Benedict abdicating on Feb. 28, a conclave of cardinals will convene at the Vatican to elect his successor.
Today, Benedict will celebrate his last public Mass as pope when he presides over Ash Wednesday services at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Popes traditionally open the holy season of Lent at a small church on the Aventine Hill, but the Vatican said the switch will allow more people to attend the historic Mass.
The Vatican yesterday said Benedict will not try to influence the cardinals’ choice of his successor.
“The pope will surely say absolutely nothing about the process of the election,” Lombardi said. “He will not interfere in any way.”
Because Benedict will no longer be pope, his papal ring and other personal symbols of his authority will be destroyed, just as they are when a pope dies, the Vatican said.