Posted on 03/31/2005 9:54:01 PM PST by bd476
Edited on 04/02/2005 7:53:51 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
From Rome CBS Radio News: (rough transcription of update)
The Vatican has been transparent in allowing news media access to information about Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II is responsible for the change in how the Vatican views the media.
At this time, Pope John Paul II's condition is unchanged.
His heart and kidneys are failing. The Vatican said that this does not suggest that he is suffering.
He has a compromised state of consciousness, yet he is not in a comatose state.
He drifts in and out of consciousness. One Vatican source said that it appeared that the Pope is resting with his eyes shut.
Pope John Paul II has responded by opening his eyes when spoken to. He has also tried to speak in the past few hours.
An Aide assisted Pope John Paul II in writing a message to his beloved staff gathered in the Papal apartment. The Pope asked them not to be sad for him.
____________________
Pope John Paul II has suffered a cardiac arrest and is in a grave condition, the Vatican has announced.
The urgent communique came hours after the Pope's health worsened with a high fever caused by an infection.
"Following a urinary tract infection, septic shock and a cardiocirculatory collapse occurred," Vatican spokesman Navarro-Valls said in his statement.
The Pope was also given the last rites - the Catholic sacrament for the sick and dying, the spokesman said.
But he said the pontiff remained "conscious, lucid and tranquil".
The emergency department chief at Rome's Gemelli hospital said on Thursday the Pope would not be taken to hospital for the time being.
Some observers said this suggested it meant he was too weak to be moved at all.
Sombre mood
Small groups of faithful gathered at St Peter's Square in Rome to pray for the Pope's speedy recovery.
However, the mood in the Vatican is sombre, the BBC's David Willey in Rome reports.
Prelates are openly expressing pessimism about the possibility of the Pope ever resuming the guidance of his one billion-strong church, our correspondent says.
The pontiff is being fed through a nasal tube to aid his recovery from throat surgery last month.
The Pope had appeared briefly at the window of his Vatican apartment on Easter Sunday to bless the faithful, but was not able to speak.
It was the first time during his 26-year pontificate that the Pope delegated the main Easter ceremonies to his cardinals.
'Lost weight'
On Thursday afternoon, the Pope's temperature soared to 40 degrees C (104F), Italian media reported.
He developed breathing troubles and has difficulty in swallowing as a result of the progress of Parkinson's Disease, an incurable condition from which he has been suffering for nearly a decade.
Since his throat surgery, he has lost about 19 kg (42 lb), Father Hejmo said, which leaves him more vulnerable to infections.
The Pope's private doctor Renato Buzzetti is in charge of his medical treatment in his private apartment at the Vatican.
So far this year the Pope has had two spells in hospital where he received treatment for breathing problems and underwent an operation on his throat.
Ping.
The BBC has got the champagne on ice, and glass in hand....
Bump for Breaking News
Prayers for the Pope.
:(
Very sad.
Prayers for Pope John Paul II. Yes, it is very sad, Onyx.
The article says the Pope lost 42 lbs (!) since his throat surgery, which I hadn't heard reported before. No wonder they had him on a nasogastric feeding tube.
Jesus said,
"Come to Me all you who are
weary and burdened, and
I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28
Today they announced his high fever from a bladder infection. Bladder infections and other infections are not uncommon when older patients are hospitalized frequently as the Pope has been.
Can't be too sad about a long life, well lived, making great contributions to humanity.
Indeed - his is a life to rejoice. It sounds like he will soon receive his well-deserved reward. Even as a non-Catholic, I not only prayer for him, but I also pray that his successor is up to the task of filling some very large shoes.
The doctor on MSNBC said the Pope may have had a catheter--that's why my very ill brother-in-law spent a week in the ICU. He has a catheter and got a bladder infection on top of pneumonia. He survived, but he may be stronger than the Pope, but only marginally.
While it is true that Pope John Paul II has given much to humanity, and has lived an exemplary, self sacrificing life, it is in anticipation over his eventual passing that finds people sad. People will be in grief and mourning. It is sad to lose a great man.
Another Freeper pointed it out to me that it is ironic how parallel his condition has been running to Terri Schiavo. This really clinches it. I don't think that he will make it through the night.
God Bless him in his valiant effort to continue in his earthly duties and responsibilities while weak, in pain and suffering.
I believe this pope is a great man and a man who, to a great extent, helped Ronald Reagan shape the fall of communisms in the east block coutries. I understand he has stood firm against New Age devotees in the Vatican and have read speculation that at his passing a new pope with leaning toward the New Age Movement will be selected. I do not keep up with Vatican politics. Can someone with knowlege give me information along this line?
I believe this pope is a great man and a man who, to a great extent, helped Ronald Reagan shape the fall of communisms in the east block coutries. I understand he has stood firm against New Age devotees in the Vatican and have read speculation that at his passing a new pope with leaning toward the New Age Movement will be selected. I do not keep up with Vatican politics. Can someone with knowlege give me information along this line?
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