A Papal Blessing., page 1

Good Friday in Rome in 2037

The crowds waited expectantly for the pope to bless the crowd. He would show that's for sure.

Some wondered if the feeble shake of his hand as it rested on his lap or the flicker of his eyelid actually constituted a papal blessing in any meaningful way but those in the crowd that did wonder didn't say, they were caught in the moment like everyone else.

This pope, John Paul II, was the longest serving pope of all time some said that his record would never be beaten others speculated that the next pope, when he was elected would be an eternal pope, medical science was moving so fast that if John Paul II had had the same start as the next pope then he might have been eternal but he had been born before the Second World War and had had a hard life before he'd ascended to the papal throne.

It was about the sanctity of life you see. The Churches policy on the preservation of life when medical science had progressed so rapidly had come to this logical but maccabre conclusion.

Some doctors said he was dead but those that gained most by his continuing papacy listened to other doctors. The bellows pumped oxygen into his lungs, food was fed directly into his stomache, a pacemaker kept his blood circulating, a dialysis cleaned his kydneys, and so the list went on. He was alive because an ECG showed electrical current and all life is sacred and must be preserved.

There was a flicker at the curtain, and the crowd moved forward slightly in anticipation and then the shrivelled features of the pope could be clearly seen. A subordinate read the blessing but all eyes were on the holy father looking for his blessing.

His arm jerked sharply but only slightly.

A nervous tick ? Movement induced by a helpful aide ? Or the miracle seen by millions of believers around the world live on television.

This is the freak show that is produced when religious ideology clashes with science.

The modern Methusala. A symbol, becomes a totem, becomes an idol.