Pope to skip Good Friday, health precarious
Vatican sources say pontiff's recovery from surgery going slow
Updated: 12:47 p.m. ET March 22, 2005
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul's recovery from throat surgery is going slower than hoped for, raising even more doubts over if and when he can resume normal activities, Vatican sources said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, things are not going as well as we would have hoped," a Vatican monsignor told Reuters. "These are the ups and downs of post-operative convalescence for a man of his age and condition."
"It is clear the Pope is suffering a lot," said another cleric who works in the Vatican.
Vatican sources said the 84-year-old Pope, who was last seen in public on Sunday, would have to miss this week's Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Christ's passion and death.
The Pope, who also suffers from Parkinson's Disease, had hoped to be able to attend the ritual. It was the only event during Holy Week, which ends next Sunday, that the Pope had not previously delegated to cardinals.
The procession will instead be presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome. The Pontiff will watch on television and if his health permits, he will join the ceremony via a video link at the start or the end.
The Pope's audiences, including Wednesday general audiences, have effectively been suspended until further notice. Rome was awash with rumors on Monday night that the Pope had suffered a serious setback earlier in the day and several Italian newspapers on Tuesday reported he had a brief breathing crisis.
Condition worsening?
One newspaper, Rome's Il Messaggero, quoted an unnamed Polish priest as having been told by the Pope's secretary: "Pray for the Pope because his condition is worsening."
He still has a tube, known as a cannula, in this throat to help him breath and medical experts have said he will most likely have to keep it there for the rest of his life. Medical staff have to keep the tube clean and clear of secretions in order to avert breathing problems and minimize the risk of infection.
It is not clear when the Pope will be able to resume his regular activities. His only scheduled international trip, to a World Youth Day event in Germany in August, is highly doubtful, sources said.
The Pope left Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 13, nearly three weeks after he underwent a tracheotomy to relieve severe breathing problems. Since his release from hospital, the Pope has made three brief appearances, two from his window overlooking St Peter's Square and one on a video link from his apartments.
Last Sunday, during a two-minute appearance from his window, the leader of the world's some 1.1 billion Roman Catholics looked uncomfortable, gaunt and in pain. The man once known as "The Great Communicator" remained silent. He banged a glass lectern with his hand in what appeared to be a sign of frustration and was wheeled away.
The absence during Holy Week of the Pope, now in the 27th year of his papacy, has hung heavy in the air.
Holy Week is the busiest and most important period in the Church's liturgical calendar.
The Pope has even delegated the Easter Sunday mass to a cardinal but is expected to deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7263878