Pope very ill

[mykfin]

Frail Pope suffers heart failure

The Pope has been fed through a nasal tube
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.

On Thursday he received the Saint Viaticum, the Catholics' last rites for the sick and dying, the spokesman said.

This morning the condition of the Holy Father is very serious

Vatican statement


Vatican statement in full
Pope's health history

This is a sign that his closest advisers fear that the end of one of the longest papal reigns is fast approaching, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

And for the first time during the Pope's current illness the mood at the Vatican has suddenly shifted to one of pessimism, our correspondent says.

An update on the Pope's health is expected later on Friday morning.

Pope stays put

The pontiff was provided with "all the appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance", Mr Navarro-Vals' statement early on Friday said.

"This morning the condition of the Holy Father is very serious," the statement said, but the 84-year-old pontiff remained "conscious, lucid and tranquil", the spokesman said.

He said the Pope had decided not to return to Rome's Gemelli hospital - but is being treated in his apartment by a team of four top consultants from the Catholic teaching hospital in Rome and his private doctor Renato Buzzonetti.

Groups of faithful have gathered at St Peter's Square in Rome to pray for the Pope's speedy recovery.


At the Vatican, the mood is sombre

On Thursday afternoon, the Pope's temperature soared to 40C (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.

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.

He tried again to speak to the faithful a few days later - a sign of his extraordinary strong will, our correspondent says.

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

[mykfin]

Pope John Paul II dies in Vatican

The Pope was renowned for his extraordinary willpower
Pope John Paul II, one of the longest serving pontiffs in history, has died at the age of 84.
He died on Saturday evening following a series of worsening health problems including heart failure.

The Polish-born Karol Wojtyla became Pope in 1978, taking a conservative stand on issues such as abortion, contraception and women's rights.

He was the most widely travelled pontiff and visited more than 120 countries during his 26-year papacy.

'Serene'

Pope John Paul II died at 2137 local time (1937 GMT) after suffering from heart and kidney problems and unstable blood pressure.

His condition deteriorated suddenly on Thursday night with a high fever caused by an infection of the urinary tract.

The infection brought on "septic shock and a cardio-circulatory collapse", the Vatican said in a statement.

The Pope then received the Saint Viaticum, a Catholic rite for the sick and dying.






The Vatican had announced on Friday that though he was gravely ill he had been conscious, lucid and serene.

Millions of Catholics across the world gathered in churches and in the open air to pray for the Pope.

The pontiff had been suffering from breathing troubles, exacerbated by the progress of Parkinson's Disease, an incurable condition from which he had been suffering for nearly a decade.

He 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 had delegated the main Easter ceremonies to his cardinals.

He tried again to speak to the faithful a few days later - a sign of his extraordinarily strong will, correspondents say.

Fall of communism

John Paul's papacy nearly ended in 1981 when he was shot and seriously wounded as he toured St Peter's Square in Rome.

After a long period of recovery he visited and forgave the would-be assassin.

I... know that it would be equally ridiculous to believe that it was the Pope who brought down communism with his own hands

Memory and Identity
Written by the Pope

John Paul's reign saw radical changes in the world including the collapse of communism and the spread of Aids.

Although plagued by ill health throughout the latter part of his papacy he maintained his international schedule and in 2000 made a poignant pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

He also made a final, nostalgic return to his homeland in 2002.

Born Karol Wojtyla in 1920 near Krakow, Poland, John Paul was an excellent sportsman in his youth.

Rest in peace pope John Paul.