Doctor Confirms Pope Has Parkinson’s

The surgeon who operated on Pope John Paul II after he broke his leg in 1994 has become the first member of his medical team to acknowledge publicly that the 80-year-old pontiff has Parkinson’s disease. Italian orthopedic surgeon Gianfranco Fineschi told a weekly magazine that he was concerned about the pope’s health after a grueling Jubilee Year in 2000. “Every time the pope sets off on a journey or when he gets tired during an official engagement, I fear for him,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Fineschi as saying. “The various operations he has had and the Parkinson’s disease have made him suffer much.”