Rome, Italy, Sep 9, 2004 / 22:00 pm
According to the Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh, who visited the the Holy Father this week, Pope John Paul II is “active and in command,” much more so than the bishop had expected.
Bishop Wuerl, who was told that the Pope would not be able to ask any questions because he has difficulty speaking, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that "to formulate words takes him a little longer, but he was clearly in command of the audience… I was very pleasantly surprised to find that he was as active as he was."
Expecting to have to do all the talking because of the Pope’s struggle with Parkinson’s disease, the Archbishop was surprised when "he reached out and touched my hand to stop me and asked about Bishop Wright," Wuerl said.
Cardinal John Wright, who was the former bishop of Pittsburgh and prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, was a close friend of the Pope, then bishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow.