Pacing the pope: Pope's seclusion is prudence, not disappearing act

Published: 2008-05-09

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Every pontificate has its rhythm, and sometimes Pope Benedict XVI's seems to have more than one. In recent weeks, journalists have seen the 81-year-old pontiff go from seven-hour days on the public stage to virtual seclusion behind the Vatican walls. Predictably, that led to one alarming report -- promptly denied by the Vatican -- about the pope's supposedly "fragile heart." In fact, what may appear from the outside as warning signs probably reflect a more subtle process: pacing the pope. In the week leading up to Pope Benedict's six-day U.S. visit, his activities were reduced to a minimum. He gave no speeches, met with no groups and only a few individuals, and limited his public appearances to a weekly general audience and a Sunday blessing. In Washington and New York, the pope sailed through a busy schedule with no evident problems, a fact that pleased his aides immensely. But once he got back to Rome, he took another rest and held no public audiences for a week. Some might call it a disappearing act. Vatican officials would simply call it prudence.

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