Web Desk
Former Pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff in 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life, is seriously ill, a German newspaper reported on Monday. The newspaper, Passauer Neue Presse, cited Benedict’s biographer, German author Peter Seewald, who met the 93-year-old emeritus pope at the Vatican on Saturday. A Vatican spokesperson had no comment on the report and the former pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, did not immediately return a call asking for comment. Seewald said Benedict, who has been in frail health for some time, was now suffering from shingles, a viral infection that causes painful rashes and is common among older people.—Reuters
