Past Popes Served With Kidney Failure, Parkinson's Disease -- and a Drooling Problem

While Pope Benedict XVI might be the first Holy Father to voluntarily resign because of old age and deteriorating health, the papacy has a long history of health ailments -- from depression to gout to cancer. According to church law, as long as a pope is able to conduct Mass, he can continue to do so – even if he is suffering the pain of failing kidneys and is otherwise bedridden, like Pope Alexander VII was in 1667. RELATED: Pope Benedict XVI Resigns: The Statement Pope Alexander VII's...Full Story