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George says pope `stable,' but weakening BY CATHLEEN FALSANI RELIGION REPORTER Fresh from leading a weeklong retreat for Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia in Rome, Cardinal Francis George told reporters Tuesday that the pontiff is ailing, but not on his deathbed. "His health is stable but deteriorating," George said. "He has nothing that's going to kill him. He doesn't have cancer. He doesn't have heart trouble. But he has this neurological disorder." The pope is suffering from a disorder similar to Parkinson's disease, but without all of its symptoms, George said. "He is treated regularly for that. When he can exercise he's better," he said. The pontiff still swims at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, which helps ease some of the effects of the disease. "The major symptom that we see is the gradual stiffening of the body. So each time it gets to be a little more evident when I see him," the cardinal said. The 81-year-old pope, who remained mostly silent during the six-day retreat, as is the custom, is in good spirits. "He still tells jokes in seven languages," George said. The cardinal expects to see the pope again at the end of May when he and the rest of the world's cardinals gather at the Vatican for a "extraordinary consistory," called by the pontiff last week to discuss the church's mission in the new millennium. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/syro14.html ********* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn