There is a rather sharp polemic in this moment concerning the Pope. He is extremely decreased by disease, but however, he endeavours to continue his role and does not seem to want to give up his functions. Some people see it as an act of bravery and great courage and regard his attitude as exemplary. Others think, that not being able to fully assume his functions, he should withdraw. What is your opinion on this subject?

The Pope is the dignitary of the catholic Church, and his principal servant.

The essential question is: Can the Pope serve the Church while being considerably affected by disease and old age?

I do not think so. He cannot serve the Church, but the Church can serve him.

From my point of view, the Pope instrumentalises his disease and his suffering to build an image of martyrdom. In this way, he fascinates, challenges and attracts compassion. Many catholics - and not only them - are fascinated by what they regard as an act of bravery.

The Pope does not want to die like a simple servant. Not, he wants to leave a trace in History. His pride pushes him until usurping the place of his Master. From now on the faithful kneel at the feet of the Pope Jean-Paul II as if he were Christ himself !

Nothing will make him give up the goal he set: turning his suffering into a media event, his martyrdom, to be recognized at least as equal to his Master Jesus-Christ he is supposed to serve.

There is no question for him to finish his life in a humble and discrete way like Mother Theresa or Bernadette Soubirou.

No, because if such was the case, who would remember him later ? What did he make so exceptional so that one does not forget him in the coming centuries ? How will he deserve his canonization?

If the Pope renounced to his functions, who would still be concerned with him?

The faithful would turn to the new Pope and he would be quickly forgotten. Even worse, he could die in discretion. A simple official statement would give a report on his unacceptable death at the proper time...!

His suffering would be from now on useless, his eagerness would not serve to build an image of martyrdom anymore.

My point of view is that if the Pope behaved like a true servant of Christ, he would give up his function he is not able to assume any more. He would have as only one and single interest : that of his Church which needs a being able to assume its direction.

One cannot, in an effective way, be the head of a Church of a billion individuals while being senile.

If the Pope followed the teaching of Christ, he would not accept that all the eyes of the faithful are directed towards him. He could not agree to focus such an amount of interest on his person whereas there are so many beings much more deprived as him faced with suffering. If he showed humility, he would not support that.

He would forget himself modestly. He would discreetly pass the torch to another servant of the Church. He would devote the last moments of his existence to contemplation, meditation and prayer.

But the Pope is not awaken. He is not a spiritual Master. He is the head of a Church and behaves as a proud man who arrived at the highest stage of power that he does not want to give up in any case.

He knows that nobody can force him to resign, thus he will go until the end for the posterity !

From now on the Church is at the service of the Pope. Its martyrdom put in scene and learnedly turned into a media event makes it still more popular. Perhaps he will manage to exceed his Master Jesus if its agony continues sufficiently and especially if it is perfectly turned into a media event.

I believe that the most serious pathology the Pope Jean Paul II suffers from is megalomania. He suffers from a phenomenal excrescence of his ego. And faced to this kind of disease, the doctors are disarmed.

Seeing the faithful kneeling at his feet, he forgot that he was their servant.

A spiritual Master would have given up all his functions to the profit of a person able to exert them. And this would not have changed anything to what he is. To his state of awakening.

Nobody was never concerned by knowing which title the Church had granted Mother Teresa. And it was her last preoccupation. The only title which suited her was that of a servant. At the service of God and men.

A wise man is never recognized for its function, but for the wisdom he incarnates. It is different for a man of power. If he loses his titles, he falls into oblivion. Another head replaces it.

The media event of its long agony makes possible for Jean-Paul II to focus all the attention on himself, and this is unacceptable more for a dignitary of its row who must, more than whoever, incarnate the teachings of Christ.

And what to think of a Church which lends itself to this macabre and indecent play in order to draw the attention towards It ?

The death of the Pope Jean-¨Paul II being imminent, I wish him, before dying, to find his full lucidity and to become again a humble servant of men, his Church, and God.

The evening which followed the first part of this interview, we learned that the health of the Pope Jean-Paul II was suddenly degraded and he died two days later. Do you have some comment to add now that we learned the death of the Pope?

The big media event of Jean-Paul II's death is an insult inflicted to the innumerable people who suffer and die at every moment in anonymity and indifference everywhere in the world. The instrumentalisation of the Pope's agony reached the height of indecency and immodesty. And it is Jean-Paul II himself who organized it.

Occupying the most hierarchical row of a Church, it is being its principal servant. It is incompatible with the personality cult Jean-Paul II has orchestrated with all the media supports he had.

It is quite regrettable that the teaching of Christ became the hostage of such a Church.

It is time to release it !

Amedee