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Edited on Fri Apr-01-05 12:43 AM by DemBones DemBones
except that his condition has stabilized.
Three American physicians are asked their opinions, one is reasonably optimistic, the other two are pretty pessimistic -- nothing unusual in that!
some quotes:
At the edge of St. Peter's Square, hundreds of people gathered early Friday, concerned about the fragile pope. A few knelt on the cobblestones to pray, others wrapped blankets around themselves as they kept vigil into the night.
"There's nothing we can do but pray. We're all upset," said Agriculture Minister Giovanni Alemanno, who was in the crowd.
There were reports that the pope received the sacrament for the sick and dying, formerly called the last rites. The sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling imminent death. It is performed, however, not only for patients at the point of death, but also for those who are very sick — and it may be repeated.
The Rome daily La Repubblica reported Friday that the sacrament was administered by John Paul's closest aide, Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who serves as his private secretary. Dziwisz had given the pontiff the same sacrament on Feb. 24 just before the pope underwent a tracheotomy to insert a tube in his throat at Gemelli Polyclinic, the newspaper said.
According to its account, John Paul had attended Mass Thursday morning in his private chapel, then did paperwork from an armchair. Abruptly, at 6:45 p.m. (1645GMT), John Paul turned ghostly pale and his blood pressure plummeted, the newspaper said.
PRAY FOR HIM, PLEASE.
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