Vatican: Pope no longer an organ donor

• Tweet

VATICAN CITY, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI is no longer an organ donor because his body, along with his soul, belongs to the church.

The Catholic News Agency, CNA, Sunday said the confirmation came from Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, who is considered the Vatican's health minister, who told Italy's La Repubblica the pope's body must remain intact because it "belongs to and for the church."

CNA said a Feb. 5 letter from Benedict's secretary to a German doctor explained that while the pontiff had indeed held an organ donor card since the 1970s, his donor status expired when he became pope.

Pope Benedict had spoken publicly in the past about the benefits of organ donation and maintains his support for the practice, Zimowski added.