Pope Close to Last Day of Life

Pope John Paul II (83), is getting close to his end, remarked Christoph Schonborn, the Austrian cardinal, who is a strong candidate for the next pope.

Anxieties of the Pope’s health have been built up, as he is afflicted with Parkinson’s disease and appears to be continuously worn out in the recent days.

“The world already has heard of his disease and how he has been afflicted with it,” said Schonborn, appearing on the national ORF television of Austria, “I am not sure how close he is to the death, but he is getting close for his last day of life.”

“We never regard his narration as straight talk but think of it philosophically,” said the spokesperson of the cardinal.

The Vatican turned down the official reflects on the cardinal’s speech.

The AP passed on that Pope looked healthy in his 15-minute interview with the Lithuanian President.

On October 7, the Pope is scheduled to visit a catholic church in Pompey, and next week, he will take part in the celebration of his 25th anniversary of inauguration.

Hye-Yoon Park parkhyey@donga.com