Surprised this hasn't been brought up yet.
 

Has anyone else heard about rumors that the pope is already dead?
Heard about the rumors on TV today, not sure what to think. (doesn't make a difference either way to me)

But, if he is already dead, why wait to make it public? choosing the new pope?

I'm not sure about a possible motive to delay the announcement, unless they want it on a Sunday. To be honest, I don't see enough motive to believe it.

under the rules of the Vatican i believe that once the pope has passed, all the Cardinals from around the world gather in Vatican City. there they pretty much deliberate for between 15-20 days on choosing the new pope.

i really dont see anything wrong here. he's THAT close to death that its pretty much known that he's going to die. RUMORS are just RUMORS....someone tells 10 people something, who tell 10 other people something, then the media gets ahold of it and each station wants to be the first to report something....so they report before they have the facts. its how the media works....you report, then find your facts.

He is close to death either way. Didnt someone say that john paul is the second last pope?

Yes it is weird that some news sources were reporting he's dead. The Vatican is notorious for delaying news about the pope, but I don't see a motive either. Who knows.