Doctors have released research investigating the link between the success of the Welsh Rugby team and the mortality of Popes.In the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today, doctors are urging the Vatican’s medical team to keep a special watch over the Pope this Christmas, after their research investigating the link between papal deaths and Welsh rugby performance suggests that he has about a 45 per cent chance of dying by the end of 2008.
Rugby (the religion of Wales) and its influence on the Catholic Church: should Pope Benedict XVI be worried? Dr Gareth Payne and his team from Cardiff examined the urban legend that ‘every time Wales win the rugby Grand Slam, a Pope dies’. Dr Payne found no evidence to support this, but did find limited data linking Welsh rugby performance and papal deaths.
Wales won the Grand Slam in 2008.
The researchers charted all northern hemisphere rugby championships since 1883, but discarded the years 1885, 1888-9, 1897-8 and 1972 because not all the scheduled matches were played. For the purposes of their research, a Grand Slam was defined as one nation beating all other competing teams.
Since 1883, eight Pontiffs have died, five in Grand Slam years—three deaths happened when Wales completed the sweep, and two others occurred when Wales won the tournament but not the Grand Slam.
Interestingly, say the authors, although the deaths did not always coincide with a Welsh Grand Slam win, they did correspond with a victory of a predominantly Protestant nation (England, Scotland or Wales), rather than a Roman Catholic nation (France, Ireland, or Italy).
The authors comment that the link between Popes and Grand Slams “is nothing more than an urban myth…This comes as something of a relief as we are at a loss to see how the events could be linked, especially given the continuing rapprochement between Catholic and Protestant churches.”
However, given that the research suggests a link between the success of the Welsh rugby union team and papal deaths, the authors believe that the Vatican medical staff “can’t fully relax until the new year arrives”.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: RI)