Book recounts Pope John Paul’s final days

Pope John Paul II played down his ailments and was often reluctant to receive medical treatment, according to a book by some of his closest aides, including his personal physician.

The book, which hit the stands here Wednesday, also shows the Vatican knew that the late pope had symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in 1991 but kept quiet about it for five years.

The 118-page volume, whose title, “Let Me Go,” is drawn from the pontiff’s last words on April 2 last year, includes a detailed account of the pope’s medical history by his longtime doctor, Renato Buzzonetti.

The pope underwent surgery in 1992 to remove a large intestinal tumor that was starting to turn malignant, but he kept silent about his symptoms and pain for several months, Buzzonetti said, and then delayed submitting himself to the urgent tests recommended by his doctors. He had already had a major abdominal operation in 1981 after an assassination attempt.

“The Pope always had a serene and concrete dialogue with me,” Buzzonetti writes in the book, whose authors also include John Paul’s secretary Stanislaw Dziwisz.

“When it became necessary, he was the first to lucidly grasp the most pressing needs and quickly make the right decision. If in some cases there were delays or omissions, it was a conscious choice,” writes Buzzonetti, the pope’s doctor for nearly 27 years.