were no dates in his calendar of events he personally had to attend. I thought the most likely date was 22 February, which is the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. So I got it wrong.” The line emerging from the Vatican within hours of the announcement was that the Pope’s decision was a brave one. By this account, Benedict – never one to shrink from utterances and decisions that shocked – had taken it upon himself to bring his church face to face with reality: the reality that contemporary medicine can keep men alive far beyond the age at which they are up to grappling with the demands of running a vast global organization. Thavis agreed: “What I find particularly courageous is that he is prepared to say now, when he is not sick, that he is going; and that he’s doing it because he’s tired and not because he’s particularly ill.” But is that the whole story? Does he know more about his state of health than the Vatican has so far made public? Benedict’s own account of his reasons makes it clear that he took into account not only his physical, but also his psychological condition: “In order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to