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Pope John Paul II makes public appearance in silence
The Pope, still recovering from health problems, gave a crowd gathered outside the Vatican blessings.
By JAMEY KEATEN
The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY, March 23-- Looking gaunt, Pope John Paul II appeared at his open studio window Wednesday before thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, raising his hand in blessing a few times but remaining silent.
Pope John Paul II gives his blessing as he appears at the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 23, 2005. Looking gaunt, Pope John Paul II appeared at his studio window Wednesday and blessed faithful in St. Peter's Square. In the approximately one-minute-long appearance, the ailing pontiff raised his hand in blessing a few times but didn't speak. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)John Paul's appearance was anxiously awaited by the faithful after Italian news reports that the 84-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church was not responding well to medication after Feb. 24 throat surgery to ease his breathing troubles. Some among the thousands of pilgrims and tourists assembled in the square had tears in their eyes as they looked up to the third-floor window.
An announcement on Tuesday that the Wednesday audience so popular with pilgrims from around the world would not be held was widely seen as a sign the pontiff was recovering more slowly than expected.
The chief of the pope's medical team, reacting to suggestions in the Italian media that the pope's health had deteriorated suddenly, ruled out that John Paul might be sent back to the hospital after his discharge 10 days ago.
"No hospitalization of John Paul II is planned," the ANSA news agency quoted Dr. Rodolfo Proietti as saying Tuesday evening.
The Apcom news agency, quoting unnamed sources, said Tuesday that John Paul was not responding well to medication and had been vomiting. The agency said the pontiff was suffering from overall weakness and "strong" headaches.
An Italian cardinal tried to reassure reporters Wednesday about the pope's condition.
"I don't believe that the situation is alarming," said Cardinal Pio Laghi, a retired Vatican official. "For sure, the doctors protect him because he would want to do other" than what they are advising him, Laghi said on the sidelines of a news conference about a religious event.
"Certainly, he wanted to leave Gemelli (hospital) ahead of time. For him, this Holy Week is truly a week of sacrifice, and he relives it with passion," the cardinal was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.
His appearance Wednesday began nearly 15 minutes after the time the Vatican said it would start. There was no immediate explanation for the delay.
John Paul has scaled back his appearances since his back-to-back hospitalizations. He also has designated cardinals to take his place during this week's busy Holy Week ceremonies. The Vatican only has confirmed one appointment for the pontiff _ an Easter Sunday blessing.
The pope did not name a stand-in, however, for a Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday evening, raising the possibility that he would participate in some fashion, although it appeared doubtful he would go to the site.
Vatican Television officials said they had installed cables and other equipment in the pope's apartment above St. Peter's Square for the possible transmission of a video to be seen by the pilgrims gathered at the Colosseum.
John Paul is convalescing at the Vatican following surgery to insert a tube in his windpipe after his second breathing crisis in less than a month.
He suffers from Parkinson's disease, which affects muscle control and makes it difficult for him to speak clearly.
Before Wednesday's last-minute appointment at the window, John Paul had made three public appearances since being discharged from the hospital March 13.
On Palm Sunday, when he blessed the crowd silently from the window, the pontiff pressed his hand to his head and pounded a lectern in apparent frustration over his difficulty in responding to the crowd.
It was the first time in 26 years as pope that he was unable to preside over the Mass ushering in Holy Week, the most important season on the Christian calendar and long one of his favorite appointments.
While his physical condition is "fragile," John Paul is "perfectly sound mentally," Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who stood in for the pope on Palm Sunday, said in an interview with the Italian religious affairs weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana. Ruini said the pope "continues to carry out the acts of government and to assume the major decisions, as he has always done."
The pope's gaunt appearance lately led to speculation in the Italian media that his condition has suffered a sharp setback. Vatican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have denied there has been any sudden crisis, but acknowledge the convalescence may be behind schedule.
Story Produced by: Doug Bell
