Call me a conspiracy theorist if you must (though I think I’d prefer it if you didn’t), but the Pope’s right arm (ie the one to the left of my picture, which happens to show this particularly well) doesn’t look like it belongs to him. As the Pope delivered his Urbi et Orbi blessing, he waved ‘his’ arm about rather a lot, making the sign of the cross and what-not. But, whilst his left hand was clearly discoloured and partly clasped throughout, as one would expect, his right hand moved relatively confidently, was a perfectly normal hue, and at one point was laid completely flat on the glass lecturn. That would be a challenge for many people with mild arthritis, let alone someone in the Pope’s condition. When you also consider the relatively perculiar angle his right arm was at for the whole of the performance, it looks suspiciously like the arm was appearing from somewhere behind the Pope – at least. that’s how it looked to me.

I personally have no problem with stunt-arms, but it seems a little hypocritical for the Vatican to be using one, when they are supposed to stand for openness and honesty. But if it brought comfort to millions, then that seems a sacrifice worth making. That’s my thought, anyway.