Wojtyla’s syndrome: A proposal

Abstract

“Wojtyla’s syndrome”, in an allusion to Karol Wojtyla (1920-2005), Rome’s bishop under the name John Paul II (1978-2005), is proposed to refer to individuals of great responsibility who, in spite of suffering invalidating and highly restraining illnesses (in the case of the pope, Parkinson’s disease, among many other medical conditions), refuse to retire and continue performing their customary tasks, often with superhuman efforts.