Pope John Paul II Has Gone to His Heavenly Home with God 2:37 pm EST

BBC News Online World Edition ^ | April 1, 2005

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April 2, 2005 7:25 a.m. PST Update

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.

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Special report live from CBS News at the Vatican April 2, 2005

(This is a rough transcript of the CBS news conference with the Italian translator and Vatican representative)

Substantially and varied (blood values?) very serious very grave

We hope to serve ... earlier initial state of consciousness AT 7:30 a.m. we celebrated of Mass with the Pope he is breathing, labored or slightly...

Pope had in mind young people...

This is difficult ...

Pope seemed to refer to young people when he repeatedly seemed to say "I've been looking for you and now you've come to me... "

We've been able to reconstruct what he said, this is what he said.

We have this update now for you until this evening...

I cannot confirm the particular rumors ... (inaudible)

Probably around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. we will have another update for you...

He is not in a coma.

When we speak to him he opens his eyes.

He seems to be receptive.

We are not talking about coma here.

Question from media: Who is always present with the Pope?

Answer: Monsignor (inaudible) the other Secretary to the Holy Father the three Nuns of the Holy Father, his personal physician.

Thank you very much and we will see you later.

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'Serious' Pope has heart failure

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.

[Dan from Michigan]

Pope John Paul II is the only Pope in my lifetime as well. I'm a month older than you.

I read your profile. Good luck if you run for office. My state rep is younger than me and won his first race at 22.

[Dan from Michigan]

What I remember most was his trip to Hamtramck and Detroit back in the late 80's or early 90's. Hamtramck was still majority Polish then.

It was a huge event, especially since the Detroit suburbs are overwhelmingly Catholic. The Pope said Mass in Tiger Stadium during his visit.

I don't know how to describe how big it was. Multiply the first Red Wings Stanley Cup Parade by 100.

[Kate of Spice Island]

That was *school* and I think I am getting very tired. (Starting to spell like those doggone liberal sissies!)

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Catholics Pray, Bracing For Loss
April 2, 2005


Millions of Catholics around the world prayed Friday for Pope John Paul II amid fading hopes that he would recover. From blue-collar workers in Poland to monks in the Arctic and parishioners in the Philippines, services and vigils paid tribute to the pontiff's life.

In Wadowice, the small southern Polish town where the pope grew up, people abandoned school and work and headed for the town's church after the nation's best-known son took a dramatic turn for the worse.

"The only way we can help him is by prayer," said 17-year-old Danuta Chowaniec, one of the worshippers at St. Mary's Church, where the young Karol Wojtyla was baptized. "In spite of these alarming statements from the Vatican, that he is really worse, I still hope he improves."

Krystian Zajac, 47, a plumbing company employee, came to the church in tears.

"This situation is so difficult. I took time off from work to come and pray," he said. "This is the will of God, we just have to pray, everything is in the hands of God."

The Vatican said the 84-year-old pontiff was conscious but in grave condition Friday after suffering cardiovascular collapse during treatment for a urinary tract infection. In St. Peter's Square, thousands of people prayed and gazed up at his third-floor window.

In Washington, the White House said President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, were praying for John Paul.

"The outpouring of love and concern from so many — including millions of Americans — is a testimony to his greatness," spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Catholics across the United States have been praying for their ailing pontiff. In Denver, the crowd at an evening Mass was larger than usual. From Boston to Los Angeles, the faithful lit candles and struggled to articulate their emotions. One woman in Boston says the idea of losing John Paul is "devastating."

The head of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. called on everyone to pray for John Paul.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick said Friday he's praying for the ailing pontiff and wants to "get all those folks who are listening in Washington to pray for the Holy Father too - Catholics and non-Catholics alike."

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski canceled all his meetings for the day, and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi also dropped his public commitments.

Lech Walesa, the former leader of Poland's Solidarity union movement, which drew inspiration from the pope, said it was important to "pray so God leaves him with us for a while."

"I really hope that if the entire world prays hard enough then God will listen," Walesa told The Associated Press by telephone from Prague. "I still hope the pope will pull through."



Newspapers in Italy are devoting most of their Saturday editions to the latest news about the ailing Pope John Paul.

One paper shows a photo of the pontiff, wearing white, with his back to the camera, with the headline, "Ciao, Karol." The pope's first given name is Karol.

Another newspaper reports that the pope, with the help of his private secretary, wrote a note to his aides urging them not to weep for him. The note reportedly said, "I am happy, and you should be as well ... Let us pray together with joy."

Polish public television canceled comedy programs Friday, replacing them with broadcasts of Masses and prayers. Reflecting the strong emotional bond between the pope and his compatriots, worshippers streamed in and out of churches in Warsaw.

"I never cried before. I don't go to church, I don't believe in priests," said Wojtek Wisniewski, an unemployed 40-year-old, as he left the capital's All Saint's Church. "But I believe in the Pope. I love him. He is a saint. He understands people like me and speaks to us. There will never be another person like him."

At a tiny cloister on Norway's Lofoten Islands, north of the Arctic Circle, three Polish monks prayed for the pope.

"Our prayers are more intense today, with what we feel in our hearts," said Dariusz Banasiak, superior of the Cistercian Monastery near Stamsund.

Sympathy crossed religious boundaries for John Paul, who has worked for better relations with both Jews and Muslims. Muslims in France were praying for the pontiff, a leading representative said.

"For us Muslims, he is a man of God, a man who wanted to serve God by serving humanity," said Dalil Boubakeur, who is president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the archbishop of Westminster, said that even for people of other faiths, "he's been a moral voice, and in that sense I think the papacy and what it represents has an even more significant role in the world than it ever had before."

In the Philippines' capital, Manila, Linda Nicol had tears streaming down her face after she and her husband, Romy, said prayers.

"Hopefully he can be given a longer life. He is really well-loved by the people," Nicol said.

In Dublin, 39-year-old Niall Byrne recalled the huge crowds that came to see the pope on his 1979 visit to Ireland, drawn by his "charisma and magnetism."

"He's been my pope for most of my life," said Byrne, who came to St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral to pray for the pontiff. "He really had it. He will be remembered long after other popes are forgotten."

Across the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of people gathered with candles in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in a nighttime vigil for the pope.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe praised the pope's handling of his health setbacks.

"I am feeling a peaceful sadness, because at all times the Pope sets an example ... an example of serenity, of consistency," Uribe said.

Pius Ncube, the archbishop of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe, said he was "praying that he goes home gently."

"At 84 he has lived a full life," Ncube said. "It doesn't make sense to pray for his recovery."

Catholics Pray, Bracing For Loss

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"Catholics Pray, Bracing For Loss" Update Ping.

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Pope's Health Worsens, Says Vatican

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 1, 2005 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II's state of health continues to deteriorate, reported the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls issued a press release today stating that "the general conditions and cardio-respiratory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened."

"A gradual worsening arterial hypotension has been noted, and breathing has become shallow," explained the statement.

"The clinical picture indicates cardio-circulatory and renal insufficiency," it added.

"The biological parameters are notably affected. The Holy Father, with visible participation, associates himself to the continual prayers of those assisting him," concluded Navarro Valls.

[onyx]

Vatican news coming forthwith at the top of the hour?

This Catholic is praying.
Have been all evening.

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Praying here also.

[BurbankKarl]

That guy on Coasttocoast said the Pope would recover!

[onyx]

I am a very lacking Catholic,
but I love this Pope very much.

[Petronski]

My second night of vigil rolls on. I couldn't sleep if I tried. It's like a long, warm farewell. At once I feel honored to have known of his goodness and feel bereft that we'll have only the legacy of his goodness to sustain us.


If I had my prayers answered, he'd be healthy for ten more years.


And I fear for the Church as well. Work your will, O Holy Spirit!

[djf]

"long, warm farewell.."

Well said. I'm not catholic, but I have a huge admiration for him. A man who stuck to his principles when it would have been much easier to give in.

God blessed us with his presence and spirit.

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Amen Petronski. God's Will for the Church.

[Petronski]

I am extremely happy and comforted by how many Freepers have posted their salutes to Giovanni Paolo with a preface or afterword "and I'm not Catholic."


Not only is it a fine credit to the individual poster like yourself, it's also a testament to his extraordinarily critical role in the great victories of the twentieth century and his persistent and indefatigable leadership in the battles not yet won.

[djf]

I have always felt the true worth of a man has little to do with politics or relgion..

When Dan Moynihan died there were alot of Freepers, myself included, who realized we had lost a great man.

And I guess I'm dating myself to confess I cried the day Hubert Humphrey died.

[Petronski]

When Dan Moynihan died there were alot of Freepers, myself included, who realized we had lost a great man.

Yes. Daniel Patrick Moynihan played it straight. A true statesman

But I'm too young to know of Humphrey.

[MEG33]

Prayers continue...I just turned on TV, stories of John Paul as a youngster..very inspiring.

[Petronski]

It's bittersweet: such a blessing to have him, and so sad to see him go.

[MEG33]

I stayed up all night last night..caught a "nap". I started crying when I woke up and turned on the news and read FR about 11:30AM yesterday..I am a Protestant and he has my deep respect. The man reached out across all denominations and religions..while standing firm in his own.
He is a great man.

[onyx]

We just don't want to let him go.
I have had tears streaming all evening.
The doc was on the phone to his clergy uncles
and on his knees the rest of the time.