Pope hospitalized with breathing problems; condition stabilizes

Published: 2005-02-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After he was rushed to a Rome hospital for treatment to help him overcome breathing problems, Pope John Paul II's condition stabilized Feb. 2 and he was able to concelebrate Mass from his hospital bed, the Vatican spokesman said. "The Holy Father was able to rest for several hours during the night, he was able to sleep," Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters Feb. 2, about 12 hours after the pope was taken by ambulance to Rome's Gemelli Hospital. A Vatican official close to the pope told Catholic News Service Feb. 2 that "everything was calm, there was no panic" in the Vatican when the pope experienced difficulty breathing. "They took him to the hospital just to make him more comfortable," the official said. "He needs to rest for a few days in order to recover," he said. The official said no one close to the pope thought the illness would be fatal.

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .