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.
They are interviewing a priest and it is so lame...like the Cardinals are going to campaign!
Kate
Well, I'm sure they are probably clearing their calendars for the next several weeks. In any case once he does pass it will be followed by nine days of mourning then the conclave will assemble in the sistine chapel and the process will begin then...
Without JPII, Poland would not be free and the Soviet Union would still exist/be a threat to world peace. He IS the father of modern-day Poland. It's the only country where he hasn't rode in the armored popemobile.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,12272,1450821,00.html
Poles stage vigils for national hero
Even if the cardinals did a little campaigning they are sworn to utmost secrecy about not talking about details of the conclave...this is just media shennanigans.
There will be people who want the job, and no doubt they will do what they can to line up support...or there will be people who want certain people in the job, and they may do some quickie lobbying, but they don't have a lot of time to do any of this.
And it's done prayerfully, and knowing what's at stake.
I can't speak from any other experience because I was born in Feb of 1979, just a few short months after he became Pope (JPII was elected by the conclave of cardinals in October of 78), so for my generation it is like having FDR as president for the early baby boomers and maybe those at the tail end of the WWII generation--all they knew for as long as they could remember...
In my mind I cannot even remember what the Pope looked like before Pope John Paul.
I had tears in my eyes this afternoon when CNN's reporter was live from Krakow and was talking about how thousands of Poles had showed up at the home of the Archbishop to pray for the Holy Father.
Same here .. I kind of remember Paul VI .. same with John Paul I
John Paul II has been Pope since I was 14 years old
Paul John Paul II has been such a bigger than life figure that it blocked out everyone else. Vatican News Service is getting ready to close for several hours.
I agree with you -- I was talking about not remembering what the Popes before him looked like.
There are many stories about the Pope's sense of humor and love of laughter. I'm looking forward to hearing them in the coming days as events of his life are replayed in the media.
No sweat. I was only making a dramatic literary point.
This is from the BBC website:
Cardinals - who will elect a new pope after John Paul dies - are arriving in Rome from all over the world, the Italian media have reported.
Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4402323.stm
I was about the same age and I very vaguely remember Pope Paul VI and the only reason I remember anything about JP I is because (1)of houw short a time he was Pope and (2) JP II took JP I's name in his honor. If I wasn't attending a Catholic school I don't even think I would have remembered that.
Off to check out that link. Thanks!
Kate
I remember the day Pope JPII become the Pope
It was the day of my brothers Wedding and my aunt (she was a nun) had us all watching the TV and when it was announce, she lead us all in prayer
I remember sitting in the classroom at schol and they either announced that JP I had died or that JP II had been chosen...but I just don't remember. If there wasn't info on TV, I wouldn't even get that "snapshot" of myself sitting there in the uniform as I recall just about nothing of that year (and other parts of life) due to amnesia. I went form no memory at all to throwing one heck of a tantrum in the hospital as I remembered something extremely important based on what I overheard and then the rest has just come back gradually. I even told my doctor my name by having cheated and read it off of the arm band and wasn't really certain...
that is a great memory
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.