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.
Prayer for the Pope ping...don't know which thread will remain active.
I am not a catholic but this Pope will go down in history as one of the greatest Popes in history.
He has spent his entire life in the service of others.
Go be with God and rest your wear head and know that you are loved.
Amen.
I've been praying for him all afternoon and evening! What a great spiritual leader he has been, may God always bless him in this life and in the one to come.
Offering my prayers
I've been calling him John Paul the Great for years, on my FR homepage.
My heart is heavy.
Thanks Petronski.
Here is also an update from Reuters:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1375213/posts?page=5#5
Prayers up for my friend the Pope.......
Those are very nice thoughts and a good prayer, Styky.
Amen, Squantos. God Bless him and hold him in healing comfort.
Heavenly Father, we return to thank You for the chorus of prayers before the Throne of Grace on behalf of this beloved leader ... look with mercy upon him, O God, and extend to him comfort and peace in this dark hour. May Your healing hand be upon him, that he might rise up again to minister to the church, yet if his course has been run, O God, may You lead him gently home, Father, lead him gently home. In the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...
Sigh...this has been the toughest Holy Season in memory.
His refusal to goto hospital may be indicative of his own personal feeling on the seriousness of his health. I take it as a sign that he believes he's ready if it is his time.
Should it come to pass, and I hope it is not, I pray the Church is guided to select a worthy successor.
Thank you God, and Amen.
Thank you Pegita.
He's in my prayers.
News reports via ABC News call his condition very grave, but that there is some hope that he is not close to death.
I wonder what it was like to walk in his shoes...
His life is a fantastic story, probably unimaginable to many of us...
What a beautiful man...God Speed
That guy on KABC just asked the guy in Rome....well, who is running the show now?
"This morning, the Holy Father's health condition is very grave.
Yesterday afternoon, 31 March, as has been already announced, following a urinary infection, a state of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse set in.
The Holy Father was immediately assisted by the medical team in His Holiness' private apartments.
All appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance were provided.
The Holy Father's will to remain in his apartments was respected. They are equipped with complete and efficient health facilities.
Late yesterday afternoon there was a temporary stabilisation of the clinical framework which, however, in the following hours evolved negatively.
The Holy Father's condition is being attentively monitored and watched over.
The Holy Father is conscious, lucid and tranquil. At 1917 (1717 GMT Thursday) he received the Holy Viaticum . At 0600 (0400 GMT) today, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass.
The cardinal secretary of state and the closest aides of the Holy Father are united with him in prayer and are following the clinical conditions of His Holiness.
The Pope is being assisted by his personal doctor Renato Buzzonetti, as well as two intensive care specialists, a cardiologist and an ear, nose and throat specialist as well as two nurses."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.