Pope, in Silence, Celebrates Good Friday

	Tweet

A silent and apparently very sick Pope John Paul II joined thousands at a Good Friday service via a live video link from his private chapel at the Vatican.

For the first time in his 26 years as pope, John Paul, 84, had been too ill to attend a single Holy Week event. On Friday, his face was never shown as he sat in front of a backdrop of candles, white flowers and a gold crucifix as a cardinal read a brief message from him at the start of the ceremony. The Vatican offered no explanation, according to a New York Times report.

It has only been two weeks since the pope was discharged from his second hospitalization in a month for flu and severe breathing problems.

He is scheduled to deliver his traditional Easter blessing on Sunday morning, but it remains uncertain whether he will do so in person or on television.

“What we are seeing is the passing of the pope,” said John Wilkins, retired editor of the British Catholic magazine The Tablet. “How long that will take I don’t know, but this is on a different level than what we have been on before. It’s the passing of the pope, and it’s happening on television.”

RELATED STORIES:
Vietnam to test bird flu vaccine on people   Where there’s wildfire smoke, there’s toxicity   New challenges - Disease Prevention through Vaccination   Americans visit doctor, hospital more often   A Surprise about Our Body Clock   Guidance on preventing unintentional injuries to children   US officials defend swine flu vaccination plan   Darfur death toll may be 300,000, say UK lawmakers   Nurses may help some overweight kids   Zimbabwe’s war on AIDS threatened by cash crunch   Obesity and Anesthesia- Yes, There is a Connection   You May Have Inherited Your Bad Feet

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]