Madam, - There has been a significant amount of debate recently as to whether or not the Pope should stand down from his position owing to his deteriorating health.
No one is denying that his mind and judgment have remained sharp during his illnesses. Whether or not one one agrees with his judgments is a different matter. Calls for his retirement appear to stem mainly from the fact that people find a frail, shaky and sometimes dribbling old man too hard to bear.
It is imperative that the Pope continues in office as long as he remains mentally sound. He shows us all how the obstacles of age and chronic illness can be overcome through shear force of will and a sense of mission.
Surely, when the curtain finally descends upon this pontiff's life, it will not be his days of athletic youth, but his tenacious refusal to bow to the pressures and constraints fate has forced upon him that will prove his finest hour. In his own words, "Christ did not descend from the cross". - Yours, etc.,
ROBBIE ROULSTON, Ardmeen Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
