# Pope Francis is on "absolute rest" for bronchitis: Feb 2025 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 15, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368 "2025-02-15T23:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/81 "2025-03-23T00:09:08Z")
With no disrespect to the man or the office intended: he is screwed. At best he’ll be a do-nothing caretaker until his death. Which is not long in coming in human lifetime terms. But may leave an organization that depends upon him and only him to do the things his role demands in what seems like eternal paralysis waiting for him to finally die. It is past time that all big and important organizations put in mandatory retirement provisions at much younger ages. The elderly should not be trying to run the world. The world is too important for that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/82 "2025-03-23T00:35:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > At best he’ll be a do-nothing caretaker until his death. Which is not long in coming in human lifetime terms. But may leave an organization that depends upon him and only him to do the things his role demands in what seems like eternal paralysis waiting for him to finally die. On the other hand, the Roman Catholic Church certainly has considerable experience, even in recent decades, in dealing with infirm, aged pontiffs. AIUI, while there are some decisions and actions that only the Pope himself can make (such as appointing bishops, convening councils of the bishops, administering ecclesiastical discipline, etc.), the church itself is a _very_ slow-moving, deliberative organization. I imagine that 99% of the church’s functions can continue on for a considerable time without any input from the pope. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/83 "2025-03-23T01:26:03Z")
I hope those people who essentially twisted his arm to get him to the hospital weren’t thinking that he must be kept “alive” at all costs. Too many people do that. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/84 "2025-03-23T01:27:33Z")
20 years ago, this was going on with John Paul II. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/85 "2025-03-23T01:57:38Z")
If we’re looking at him in his role as leader of the Church, the Church would be run by the same bureaucracy during any interregnum while he was dead as it was when he was in critical condition in the hospital, so “alive at all costs” doesn’t matter there. And if we’re looking at him as a human being, the Church’s position is that all reasonable measures should be taken to preserve human life, but that heroic measures are not necessary, and that preserving dignity of human life is also important, and so it is permissible to, for instance, remove life support from a person in a persistent vegetative state. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/86 "2025-03-23T02:01:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It is past time that all big and important organizations put in mandatory retirement provisions at much younger ages. The elderly should not be trying to run the world. I mean, the odds of their being some kind of theological emergency that only the Pope is capable of addressing is pretty low - and if there was one, it’d probably be the least of our worries. In the unlikely event that Jesus shows up and wants an explanation, we’ll just have to hope that [Theodoros II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Tawadros_II_of_Alexandria) can keep him busy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/87 "2025-03-23T02:24:50Z")
Most elderly people admitted to hospital with something like pneumonia respond to treatment and are discharged. There is no obvious reason to conclude Francis is at diminished capacity. I wish Him well. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/88 "2025-03-23T02:41:04Z")
Yeah, the Catholic Church has ample experience with an aged and inform pontiff. I’m sure they have robust procedures in place to continue whatever functions they consider critical. I see no problem with them allowing him to live or die at his natural pace, and remain the pontiff during that time. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/89 "2025-03-23T02:50:09Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I wish Him well. Did the Pope get a promotion when I wasn’t paying attention? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/90 "2025-03-23T19:00:38Z")
That would be a MUCH bigger “celebrity death” story. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/91 "2025-03-23T21:17:39Z")
Big headlines for sure [![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/is-god-deadcover.jpg?resize=560,752) ](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/is-god-deadcover.jpg?resize=560,752) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/92 "2025-03-23T21:30:57Z")
Turned out he was just pining for the fjords, er, 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/93 "2025-03-23T21:33:54Z")
Are you suggesting He has gone to meet his maker, and joined the crowd invisible? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/94 "2025-03-23T21:48:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Are you suggesting He has gone to meet his maker FTR, the Pope is not God and as such does not get capitalized pronouns. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/95 "2025-03-24T00:00:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > FTR, the Pope is not God and as such does not get capitalized pronouns. But he’s God’s proxy on earth, so at least he should get a leading letter two thirds large? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/96 "2025-03-24T00:16:27Z")
Thank you for your unsolicited grammar advice. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/97 "2025-03-24T06:53:52Z")
And it was _choir_ invisible. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/98 "2025-03-24T13:23:53Z")
Unsolicited nitpicking? in the Straight Dope!? surely you jest… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/99 "2025-03-24T13:37:42Z")
What have I told you about calling me Shirley? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368/100 "2025-03-24T15:45:16Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > surely you jest… She hasn’t been around for nine years. 😉 > **[@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shirley_ujest/summary)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-is-on-absolute-rest-for-bronchitis-feb-2025/1014368.md?page=6)