ROME – The Vatican says Pope John Paul II has begun to slip in and out of consciousness and that his condition remains extremely serious.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls says the Pope showed the first signs of losing consciousness early Saturday. Speaking to reporters through an interpreter, the spokesman who is a physician described the Pontiff’s lapse into unconsciousness as a compromising moment.
“It was noticed that there was a rather difficult compromising moment at 7:30. Nothing has changed since,” he said.
But Dr. Navarro insists the 84-year-old Pope is not in a coma and says he opens his eyes when spoken to.
Pope John Paul’s health took a sharp turn downward late Thursday, and a day later the Vatican said his heart and kidneys were failing, his breathing was shallow and his blood pressure had fallen to what it described as dangerously low levels.
In an indication that the pope is still able to speak, Dr. Navarro says when aides informed the pontiff that thousands of young people had gathered in Saint Peter’s Square with other pilgrims and tourists to pray for him during a long overnight vigil, the aides quoted John Paul as saying, “I have looked for you and now you have come to me.” – an acknowledgment of the youths’ presence in the square below his apartment.
One of John Paul’s closest aides, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was quoted by the news agency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference as saying the Pope is aware that he is dying.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan told the Mexican television network Televisa that the pope’s doctors told him the pontiff is about to die and that there is no longer any hope of saving him.
The Vatican says it will provide a further updates on the pope’s condition.
VATICAN (voa) – Roman Catholics in all parts of the globe have been holding services and prayer vigils for Pope John Paul II, who has led the worldwide church for more than a quarter of a century.
Bishops in Brazil, the country with the largest Catholic population in the world, led special services for the pontiff. Latin America is home to nearly half of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.
Communist Cuba’s state-run media allowed Havana’s Catholic cardinal to make a rare television appearance to tell the island’s people, who have little access to unrestricted news, about John Paul’s decline.
Church leaders in the Philippines, with the biggest Catholic population in Asia, have been leading fervent prayer vigils.
Words of concern for the pope have also come from such countries as Australia, India and Russia, as well as most of Europe – especially in John Paul’s native Poland, where churches remained open throughout the night.
In the Middle East, Muslims joined Christians in expressing concern for the pope, who was known for his support of inter-faith dialogue.
In Washington, the White House said President Bush and his wife, who are not Catholic but are devout Christians, are praying for the pope. If John Paul dies, news reports here quote senior officials as saying Mr. Bush will travel to Rome to attend funeral ceremonies.
