BISHOP LEHMANN'S DECLARATIONS REGARDING THE POPE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 10, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was the Italian translation of part of the interview that Bishop Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany, gave yesterday to a German radio station. The interview, taken up by the communications media in other countries, has given rise to some debate.

The bishop was posed the following question: "Excellency, the Holy Year has begun. The Pope is clearly ill. Is it be possible that a 'round date' such as this could be a suitable moment for the Pope to resign? There has already been some speculation on this matter.

He replied as follows: "In the last few weeks and months I have had more occasions that ever before to meet the Pope. ... I have been impressed by his spiritual presence, both in personal and group meetings. However, I do not have the (medical) competence to judge whether his evident Parkinson's disease has any repercussions on his ability to guide the Church and make decisions. In fact, these activities require a special energy. Furthermore, for some years I have had the impression that the Pope has concentrated all his energy on the Holy Year, on the Great Jubilee 2000. It's incredible, the number of commitments and public engagements the Pope has taken on. ... I personally believe that the Holy Father is capable of bravely confessing: 'I can no longer adequately carry out my role as is necessary'. I believe the Pope would do so if he felt that he were no longer capable of authoritatively guiding the Church. ... Yet, if the Pope intended to take such a step, I do not know if those close to him or his advisors would agree with his decision. ... It is always a sensitive moment when Popes, after lengthy pontificates, suffer physical weakness, this is quite understandable. Nonetheless, for the Church and perhaps also for society, this may constitute a positive lesson: the fact that there can be ailing Popes. ... In fact, in our daily lives only people in good health and the young count. Everything must 'work'. ... I was also greatly impressed by the constancy and punctuality with which the Pope followed all the meetings of the recent synod. ... Consequently, I must say that after this experience my respect and appreciation of the Pope are stronger than ever."

To the question: "Would the Pope's eventual successor have to come from a continent other than ours, perhaps Africa or Latin America?" Bishop Lehmann replied:

"I do not wish to talk about a successor (to the Holy Father), because I feel only respect for the present Pope. It is true that one looks also to the Church in the Third World. ... Yet, a weak Pope for such a Church would prove a catastrophe. Consequently, in my opinion, we must leave the question open for the moment."

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