Vatican Says Benedict No Longer an Organ Donor; Donor Card Was Voided When He Became Pope

The Worldwide Religious News website reports today (February 6, 2011) that Pope Benedict XVI -- who possessed an organ donor card since the 1970s when he lived in Germany -- is no longer an organ donor.

The Vatican announced last week that the pope's body belongs to the whole church; therefore, his organ donor card was rendered void when he became pope in 2005, his secretary said.

When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, the Vatican denied that some of his organs would be sent to his native Poland as relics. He is buried at the Vatican.