Friday, April 1, 2005
[size=medium]Pope fades
John Paul II is in 'grave condition,' but lucid and serene, after heart failure. [size=xx-small]Associated Press
VATICAN CITY - [size=x-small]Pope John Paul II suffered heart failure and is in "very grave" condition, the Vatican said today, but it said he was lucid and spent the morning celebrating Mass and receiving top aides, asking one to read him the biblical account of Christ's crucifixion and burial.
Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls choked up with tears as he told reporters about the pope's worsening condition. He said the 84-year-old pontiff had been "informed of the gravity of his situation" and decided to remain in his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square, where thousands of pilgrims gathered to pray for him.
"The pope is still lucid, fully conscious and extraordinarily serene," Navarro-Valls said. He said the pope had unstable blood pressure and remained in "very grave" condition.
Among the top church officials who gathered at his bedside was Archbishop Paolo Sardi, the Vatican vice chamberlain who runs the Holy See between the death of a pope and the election of a new one. American Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the governor of Vatican City and formerly of the Detroit diocese, also visited the pope at his bedside.
Navarro-Valls said John Paul asked aides to read him the biblical passage describing the final stage of the Way of the Cross, the path that Christ took to his crucifixion. Navarro-Valls said the pope followed attentively and made the sign of the cross.
"This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years," Navarro-Valls said. Choking up, he walked out of the room.
John Paul's health declined sharply Thursday when he developed a high fever brought on by the infection.
On Thursday afternoon, the pope suffered heart failure and a condition called "septic shock" during treatment for the infection, the Vatican said today, but it denied an Italian news report that he was in a coma.
The pope received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening. Formerly called the last rites, the sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling imminent death. It is performed both for patients at the point of death and for those who are very sick.
John Paul's closest aide, Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who serves as his private secretary, had given the pontiff the same sacrament on Feb. 24 just before the pope underwent a tracheotomy to insert a breathing tube in his throat at the Gemelli Polyclinic hospital.
The pontiff was attended to in his apartment by the Vatican medical team, and provided with "all the appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance," the Holy See said.
So do I! I hv cried during the mass in Central last Sunday. Our Pope liked our father. I really really missed him very much. I planned to go to Vatican when my son studying primary school.
The latest one is "Memory & Identity", now only has English version.
"Go in Peace - a gift of enduring love" - 如何去愛 , this one has both English & Chinese version.
You can buy all books written by the late Pope in Catholic Centre. However, as the stock is not huge, you better call to check before you go, especially 分店。 Their website: Catholic Centre website
And can you/ anyone tell me why the death of Pope can bring so many people together in Vatican. He has done so many things and how he/his work affects the wide public.
:oops: :lol: :roll: :pint: ?-( :wave: :lalala: :yawn:
德國人 卡爾•威特說：「人只有在行善時，才能接近上帝，…，對於兒子，我最大的願望是讓他成為對世界有所貢獻的人，…，我希望他是一個完美的人，這比其他的都更重要。」
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