Vatican seeks to calm concern about retired pope's health
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Vatican is seeking to temper concern about Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's health after his longtime secretary said he was "like a candle that slowly and calmly goes out."
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Thursday that Benedict's condition doesn't raise "any particular concerns" for a man who turns 89 next month.
Lombardi added: "Of course it is part of the effects of old age and a gradual, growing fragility of the physical condition as with any elderly person." But he stressed that Benedict's mind is "perfectly lucid."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Benedict's longtime secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, recently told an Italian magazine that Benedict was like a slowly extinguishing candle but had maintained his subtle sense of humor. "He's calm, in peace with God, himself and the world," Gaenswein said.