In a rare public statement, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has said that he is becoming increasingly frail but is at peace with the prospect of death.
Benedict became the first Pope in 600 years to resign from the Seat of St Peter when he stepped down if February 2013.
His papacy was dogged by a series of crises and controversies on issues ranging from the widespread abuse of children by Catholic priests to the Church's attitudes to Islam and homosexuality.
The 90-year-old wrote a letter to Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s leading dailies, in response to queries from readers as to his health and state of mind.
The letter, marked “urgent, by hand” was delivered to the newspaper’s offices in Rome from Benedict’s home – “Mater Ecclesiae monastery, V-120, Vatican City.”
He was deeply moved that “so many readers want to know how I am spending this last period of my life,” he wrote in the letter, which the newspaper printed on its front page on Wednesday.
Benedict became the first Pope in 600 years to resign from the Seat of St Peter when he stepped down if February 2013.
The letter, marked “urgent, by hand” was delivered to the newspaper’s offices in Rome from Benedict’s home – “Mater Ecclesiae monastery, V-120, Vatican City.”
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