silent, appearance at his 10th-floor hospital window Sunday, March 6, adding to concern he may not be able to fully participate in upcoming services marking Easter, Christianity’s most solemn holiday.
As hundreds of hymn-singing pilgrims outside Rome’s Agostino Gemelli hospital watched, the 84-year old pontiff was seen waving and making a sign of the cross. Vatican watchers said John Paul II, who is recovering from a throat operation, looked gaunt but in reasonably good form.
Ahead of his appearance, Vatican officials warned however that despite an apparent improvement of his health, the Pope’s participation in Easter services will be limited.
EASTER TROUBLES
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said it was possible the Pope could be released in time for Easter, which falls on March 27. But in a statement he stressed that if he was released "his level of participation would still have to be worked out", several media reported.
Sunday’s message of the Pope was read out by an aide to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square of Vatican City, in which he thanked Jews and Muslims for their prayers for his recovery.
"I want to express special recognition of the closeness of believers of other religions, particularly Jews and Muslims," he said. "Some of them wanted to come and pray here at the hospital. And that for me is a comforting sign, for which I thank God."
GIANT SCREENS
Four giant screens had been erected around the square, a few kilometers from the hospital, allowing pilgrims to see the Pope, hunched in his wheelchair and the proceedings of Archbishop Leonardo Sandri who performed the traditional Angelus blessing in his name.
Some pilgrims in St Peter’s believe the time has come for the Pope, who also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, to step down. "He should set an example and resign because he is too frail," German tourist Johannes Jung, 38, from Dortmund told the French News Agency AFP.
However, Barbara, 30, from Manila, disagreed. "Even though he’s very sick, he should continue. I pray for him every day," she was quoted as saying.
Observers said meanwhile that the list of those who visited the hospital reflected John Paul II’s whish to bridge centuries of misunderstanding between Catholics, Jews and Orthodox Christians.
ISRAEL PRAYS
Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben Hur, said he brought a letter of prayer in Hebrew from Israel’s chief rabbi, Sholomo Amar "expressing hope for a speedy recovery," The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
"In this prayer, besides hoping that the Holy Father gets better as soon as possible, there’s a hope for world peace and other religions to take example from the leadership of John Paul II," the envoy reportedly said. The pope’s 26-year papacy "has done much to promote peace and beautiful ideas of humanity," he added.
Amar’s letter "was a prayer that comes from the heart of the chief rabbi but also people of the state of Israel," Ben Hur added.
UKRAINIAN ICON
Ukraine Ambassador Grygorii Khoruzhyi reportedly relayed get-well wishes from President Viktor Yushchenko, accompanied by two women who brought a handmade icon. Tensions persist between the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Orthodox Church, which accuses the Vatican of trying to poach believers in traditionally Orthodox countries like Ukraine.
There was some confusion in Sweden where public broadcaster SVT apologized for publishing a story on its Web site Thursday that said the pope had died, AP reported. The erroneous report apparently appeared for several hours before it was removed, because a reporter
preparing an obituary hit the wrong computer key.
(With reports from Vatican City and Rome, Stefan J. Bos)
