From: Italian Life
Pope Heading Back To Hospital
Possible return to Gemelli for checks on tube inserted after tracheotomy. Pontiff, unable to speak at Easter, did not appear in St Peter�s Square yesterday.
The small white-clad figure with the red stole on his shoulders was at his customary window. A crowd of one hundred thousand raised its eyes in trepidation. All were waiting for the pope to pronounce his blessing �Urbi et Orbi� (To the City and the World). A secretary held out a microphone. The pontiff made as if to speak, but managed only to breathe with difficulty. He gave up, reluctantly. It was Easter Sunday.It was the excitement, said Vatican sources, playing down the incident. It�s because he is too weak, commented doctors. And yesterday, the Holy Father did not appear for the Angelus blessing, as was expected. His condition may not be as reassuring as has been suggested. In fact, another, insistent, rumour is going the rounds.
For in the next few days, the pope could well be returning to the Gemelli hospital. Checks have to be carried out on his tracheotomy tube, and the details of his diet have to be worked out. He swallows with great difficulty, a problem connected with the Parkinsonism from which he has suffered for some years. The examinations cannot be carried out in the Vatican, which does not have the necessary hospital equipment. A CAT scan will probably be necessary to investigate the state of the pontiff�s lungs. When he was discharged on 13 March, there was already talk of further hospitalisation, a possibility that is becoming increasingly likely.
If hospitalisation is the favoured option, the most probable date is next week. The Vatican has issued no denials, and spokesmen admit that a further stay in the Gemelli cannot be ruled out. But no decision has been taken so far. Checks will focus principally on the pontiff�s diet. Doctors following the pope�s struggle for health from a distance are not optimistic. �He will never speak again. He has insufficient strength to vibrate his vocal chords with his breath because he has become very weak�, is the uncompromising opinion of Stefano Ruggieri, professor of neurology at Rome�s La Sapienza university. �The tube cannot be removed. Without it, the patient would become breathless�.
According to Professor Ruggieri, John Paul II will from now on only be able to pronounce words that have already been prepared, �certainly not speech that requires automatism� and �he will never acquire continuity of phonation, despite his robust constitution and iron will�. Vatican sources are hoping for rather more in terms of speech recovery. It is explained that on Sunday, the pontiff was unable to say the few words of the blessing because he was excited by his gesticulated conversation with the crowd, which went on for several minutes. Vatican sources claim that before the ceremony, the pope tried to pronounce the blessing and �managed very well�. But it is one thing to talk to a secretary, and quite another to speak to a crowd. John Paul II stayed at the window for 13 minutes, longer than doctors, who are worried about the pope�s being exposed to the cold air, had advised him to remain. Towards the end of the appearance, one of the pope�s secretaries was seen gesturing to him that it was time to go back inside. John Paul II appeared to wave his hand in reply as if to say �a little longer�.
He had emerged on the stroke of 12 o�clock, just after the Easter service led in St Peter�s Square by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who said �the Holy Father is closer than ever� and read the �Urbi et Orbi� message. The pope followed the reading on his lectern, passing the sheets one by one to his secretary as they were read. He was seen to nod when Cardinal Sodano read the passage on �peace for the countries of the Middle East and Africa, where so much blood continues to be spilled; peace for all humankind, over whom there always looms the danger of fratricidal wars�. At the end of the message, the deacon read the formula announcing the papal blessing, which includes the words,�We beseech Almighty God to keep the pope long at the helm of the Church�.
A microphone was held out to John Paul II, who made the sign of the cross three times in blessing, moving his lips as if to say the words, but emitting only a prolonged sigh. There was much agitation among onlookers. People of all ages were crying, including some of the carabinieri in full dress uniform. Oddly enough, the pontiff looked less impressed than the watching faithful. He clenched and unclenched his hands on the edge of the lectern. Then, making a final gesture of greeting to the crowd with his open right hand, the he withdrew. The most successful of the pope�s four appearances during Holy Week, on Palm Sunday, Wednesday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, was the Via Crucis video linkup, whenJohn Paul II proved that he could stay alert and steady for an hour and a half without assistance of any kind.
Luigi Accattoli
Margherita De Bac
English translation by Giles Watson
www.watson.it [
watson.it]
Everytime I see the Holy Father lately, I must admit, I cry. I think we must all remember him in our prayers daily...and not just the usual prayers and devotions, but we should do something special each day for him...(for example we, at home pray the second Rosary everyday for his intentions). Let us all pray that the Lord will sustain the Holy Father in faith and hope and trust in the Lord, and that Our Lady, to whom he has consecrated his ministries as priest, bishop, and pope will EVER remain near him and help him in all things!
In the Risen Lord,
+Fr. Gregory
