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BEING given the last rites did not mean Pope John Paul's death was imminent, Melbourne auxiliary Bishop Christopher Prowse said today. Pope John Paul II had developed a very high fever caused by a urinary infection and was very, very sick, the Vatican said today. The Italian media has reported that the Pope has been given the last rites, but this has not been confirmed by the Vatican. Bishop Prowse said the Pope had probably received the sacrament before today because of his deteriorating health. "It (last rites) doesn't mean he's necessarily going to die," Bishop Prowse told the Channel...

VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II was given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church late Thursday night as his health deteriorated, a Vatican source has told CNN. The pope is taking antibiotics, a Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN CITY - Looking gaunt, Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II appeared at his open studio window Wednesday before thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square for Holy Week, raising his hand in blessing a few times but remaining silent. John Paul's appearance was anxiously awaited by the faithful after Italian news reports that the 84-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church was not responding well to medication after Feb. 24 throat surgery to ease his breathing troubles. Some among the thousands of pilgrims and tourists assembled in the square had tears in their eyes as...

Pope John Paul II never ceases to rock our world.As he burst out of the Gemelli hospital last week and rode triumphantly through the streets of Rome back to the Vatican, he resembled the Roman generals of old marching back from war, blood-stained and battle-scarred, but victorious once again.The throngs of journalists and paparazzi that had been waiting for hours to steal a glimpse of the Pope as he was whisked back to the Vatican nearly keeled over in surprise as John Paul appeared not in an armored limousine with tinted glass to conceal his condition, but on full display...

ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul (news - web sites) spent a restful night in hospital after throat surgery and was breathing unassisted but doctors have advised him not to speak for several days, the Vatican (news - web sites) said on Friday. The Vatican's first medical bulletin, issued some 16 hours after the Pope had a tracheotomy to open his windpipe and help him breathe, aimed at soothing a worried Roman Catholic Church. Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters the 84-year-old Pope's heart and blood circulation were good and he had no bronchial pneumonia infection -- a possible complication of...

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II is breathing on his own, but his doctors have advised him not to speak for a few days, the Vatican (news - web sites) said Friday, a day after he was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery to ease another breathing crisis. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the frail 84-year-old John Paul spent a restful night at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said there was no sign the pope had a lung infection such as pneumonia. The pontiff had been taken by ambulance to the hospital on Thursday...

John Paul has fever and breathing difficulties, officials say VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Doctors treating Pope John Paul II are considering whether to perform a tracheotomy -- an incision into the windpipe -- to ease the ailing pontiff's breathing, according to Italian media. The pope, who was rushed to hospital by ambulance Thursday, is believed to be suffering a recurrence of the flu that forced him to be hospitalized for 10 days earlier this month.

Pope John Paul II, recently hospitalized with the flu, is being returned to the hospital, wire services report. Details soon.

Off to the Vatican to affirm collegial ties with Holy Father 06/17/2004 Archbishop John Vlazny This year the bishops of the United States are making their Quinquennial Visits Ad Limina Apostolorum. This trip to Rome for the bishops of the Northwest is now scheduled from June 20 through 26. I promise to keep you uppermost in my thoughts and my prayers during my days in the Eternal City, and I ask you to pray for me as well.This event, which normally takes place every five years, has three principal moments. Each one has its own meaning. The first is...

ADDRESS TO THE HOLY FATHER ADDRESS TO THE HOLY FATHER Holy Father, More than thirty years ago, under your predecessor, Pope Paul VI, a major reform modified the Latin rite of the Catholic Liturgy, especially the "Order of the Mass." This reform immediately raised troubles and controversies across the entire world. Some studies which were made, notably the "Brief Critical Examination of the Novus Ordo Missae" given to Pope Paul VI by Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci, pointed out the troubling deficiencies and ambiguities affecting this reform. The Liturgy has certainly evolved over the course of history, as is shown by...

JOYFUL MYSTERIES 1. THE ANNUNCIATION For all priests who have lost a love of humility and who disobey Church teaching as taught by the Holy Father and Magisterium 2. THE VISITATIONFor all bishops and priests who fail to show the compassion of Christ to all sheep given to their care 3. THE NATIVITYFor all priests who no longer love God above all things 4. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE For all priests who do not possess a spirit of sacrifice 5. THE FINDING OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLEFor all priests who have lost zeal for the glory of God...

(\O/) / \ WINGS EWTN’s Weekly Electronic Newsletter - With News on upcoming Special Events and Programs July 19, 2002 In less than one week, Pope John Paul II arrives in Toronto for World Youth Day 2002 and EWTN Radio and Television will take you there! You’ll hear live and encore coverage of all the events on EWTN. For complete information, go to: http://www.ewtn.com/wyd2002/index.asp WORLD YOUTH DAY Coverage (All Times Eastern)Tues, July 23 1:00 PM LIVE! WYD 2002:The Pope Arrives in Canada (60:00)Tues, July 23 4:00 PM LIVE! WYD 2002:Opening Mass in Canada (2 hrs)Thur, July 25 1:00 AM ENCORE!...

+++ The Burden / Cross of the Holy Father John of Salisbury in the 12th century writing in his political treatise "Policraticus" : "The cathedra of the Roman Pontiff is a bed of thorns, his mantle, trimmed with the sharpest points all over, is so heavy that it weighs down, bruises, and crushes the strongest shoulders, and the tiara with its crown may well seem bright because it is made of fire."(VI, 24) "At this time too, as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of...