THE POPE ISN'T DOING SO HOT.....

[Lola]

:'(

courtesy of cnn.com

VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II's breathing is becoming shallow and several of his major organs -- including his kidneys and heart -- are growing weaker, the Vatican said Friday.

"The general conditions and cardio-respiratory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened. A gradual worsening arterial hypotension has been noted, and breathing has become shallow," the Vatican press office said.

"The clinical picture indicates cardio-circulatory and renal insufficiency. The biological parameters are notably compromised. The Holy Father, with visible participation, is joining the continual prayers of those assisting him."

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said earlier that the pope was in "very serious condition" Friday afternoon, but he is "lucid, fully conscious" and "very serene."

Navarro-Valls also said earlier that the pope's blood pressure was "unstable" and that he "... asked for the Holy Scriptures to be read to him."

The pope has had a number of visitors Friday, including the Vatican's secretary of state and several cardinals. Navarro-Valls said the pope remembered that today was Friday, the day he traditionally follows the ritual of the Stations of the Cross and he meditated on that ritual.

At 7 p.m. local time Friday, a Mass was being held in honor of the pontiff at St. John Lateran Church, delivered by Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome.

"In this moment, he is more than ever our pope -- the vicar of Christ --- who livens us with his passion," Ruini said.

At the Mass Friday night, Ruini said the pope "is facing the most difficult test of his long and extraordinary life. He is living with that incredible serenity and he has abandoned himself to the hands of Christ, with whom he has always lived, worked, suffered and had joy."

Italians, Catholics and the faithful the world over have been asked to intensify their prayers for the Holy Father in light of his declining health.

In another development, the papal press office issued a list of 17 new papal appointments, including bishops and archbishops, and a list of six archbishops who resigned.

The appointments and the resignations were previously approved by the pope, it said.

The announcements may be an attempt by the Vatican press office to indicate that the business of the Vatican continues. And if the list were to be issued, it would have to be issued now, ahead of a papal death.

Earlier, Navarro-Valls said in a written statement that the pope had suffered cardiocirculatory collapse and septic shock.

According to a Web site of the National Institutes of Health, septic shock is "a serious, abnormal condition that occurs when an overwhelming infection leads to low blood pressure and low blood flow.

"Vital organs, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, and liver may not function properly or may fail. Decreased urine output from kidney failure may be one symptom."

Italian police began closing the streets leading to the Vatican early Friday on expectations that due to the pontiff's grave condition, more pilgrims would come to the area.

Navarro-Valls said the pope is being treated in the Vatican, because it is his desire to remain in his residence and not return to the hospital.

The pontiff even celebrated a Mass early Friday, Navarro-Valls said.

"The pope is being assisted by his personal doctor, Renato Buzzonetti, as well as two intensive care spe******ts, a cardiologist and an ear, nose and throat spe******t, as well as two nurses," the statement said.

Hours earlier, a Vatican official said the pope appeared to be responding well to antibiotic treatment for a urinary tract infection that caused him to develop a high fever.

On Thursday night, as his health deteriorated, the pontiff received the Catholic Church's sacrament Anointing of the Sick, formerly known as Last Rites or Extreme Unction -- a ritual of healing, a Vatican source told CNN.

The sacrament is given to patients who are seriously ill in addition to those who are near death. The pope also received the sacrament in 1981, when he was wounded by a would-be assassin.

The news of the pope's worsening condition came two days after the Vatican revealed that he had a feeding tube inserted through his nose to provide more nutrition, as he struggled to recover from a tracheotomy five weeks ago.

The 84-year-old pope suffers from a number of chronic illnesses, including crippling hip and knee ailments and Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder that can make breathing and swallowing difficult.

Doctors performed the tracheotomy in early February as John Paul II recovered from a bout of influenza that forced his hospitalization.

Wednesday, during his regular weekly general audience, the pope appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square for about four minutes. Unable to speak, he used hand gestures to bless thousands of people gathered for a glimpse of him.

[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/****6869/StupidThread.jpg[/img]

[pod]

going to hell, I know.

[ALEXX]

NOT FUNNY AT ALL. By the way do u all know that in the apocalyps it says that if the next pope is black is when the world will end . {SERIOUSLY }

[Apotheosis]

what the heck is a pope?

[pod]

The next pope is most likely another Italian Pope. JP II broke the trend by being Polish, but the general feel amongst Vatican watchers is for an Italian, again.

The deterioration in Pope Paul John II's health intensified speculation over who would succeed him, and the choice is expected to reflect the profound changes within the Roman Catholic Church in the past decades.

The next Pope will be elected in a secret conclave - a meeting held under lock and key - by up to 120 cardinals under the age of 80, the maximum allowed under a law adopted in 1975 by Paul VI.

There are at present 117 cardinals under 80, and of these nearly 100 have been appointed by John Paul II, and were likely, according to Vatican watchers, to reflect his conservative views in the choice of successor.

The next pontiff was virtually certain to come from among the cardinals themselves, although the prelates could in theory elect any baptised male.

Pope Gregory XVI in 1831 was a priest and Cardinal Alfonso Borgia, was a layman before becoming Pope Callistus III in 1455.

Until the election of John Paul II it used to be reasonable safe to predict that the next pope would be an Italian.

But a split in the Italian camp in 1978 accompanied by a last-minute push by a group of conservatives, particularly Americans, brought about what was then considered a revolution - the election of a Polish pope, the first non-Italian to head the See of Rome in 455 years.

Under John Paul II, the college of cardinals has become so internationalised and decentralised that the next pope could come from anywhere in the world, although there is a powerful sentiment to return to tradition and elect an Italian.

If this were to happen, strong candidates would include archbishops Dionigi Tettamanzi, 70, of Milan, Angelo Scola, 63, of Venice, Tarcisio Bertone, 70, of Genoa, Angelo Sodano, 77, the Vatican secretary of state, and Giovanni Battista Re, 71, the head of the Vatican congregation or department for bishops.

Another important factor is age.

If the cardinals are reasonably unanimous about the policies they want the Church to follow, they are likely to elect a young man, as Karol Wojtyla was on his election in 1978, to carry out these policies far into the future.

If they cannot agree on policies, they are more likely to choose an elderly candidate as a temporising measure.

One of the key younger candidates cited by Vatican watchers is Archbishop Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, who is 60.

If the cardinals decide on a non-Italian candidate, the field is wide open.

Africa, where the Church is facing competition from Islam and other confessions, has a strong candidate in Cardinal Francis Arinze from Nigeria, 72, who heads the Vatican congregation for divine worship.

And there are four possible candidates from Latin America - archbishops Dario Castrillon Hoyos, 75, head of the congregation for the clergy; Oscar Andres Rodrigues Maradiaga, 62, of Tegucigalpa; Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 68 of Buenos Aires; and Claudio Hummes, 70, of Sao Paulo.

Once the cardinals are sealed off in an overcrowded set of rooms in the Vatican palace anything can happen. If experience is a guide, they are likely to start with a series of complementary votes for friends or candidates from their home region, before whittling down the field to a couple of key candidates thought capable of attracting the necessary two thirds plus one of the votes.

A key factor often ignored by outsiders is that the cardinals believe that the invisible presence of the Holy Ghost is with them in the Sistine Chapel guiding their decision.

It was put to one American cardinal that the choice in 1978 of Cardinal Albino Luciano, who reigned for only 33 days as Pope John Paul I, did not seem to be divinely inspired.

On the contrary, the cardinal replied - it was the Holy Spirit's way of telling the cardinals they needed to break the Italian mould and elect a Pole as bishop of Rome.

- AFP

Next Pope is probably gonna be an Italian. That being said, I don't see the world ending just because a Pope happens to be black, Latin, or an American. They thought the world was gonna end in 2000. We're still here. (or are we? huahahahaha!)

[JMT]

there are black cardinals so its always possible.

article from 2002:
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...04/wpope04.xml

[Seb]

Originally Posted by ALEX

NOT FUNNY AT ALL. By the way do u all know that in the apocalyps it says that if the next pope is black is when the world will end . {SERIOUSLY }

I think Nostrodamus was just racist.

[ALEXX]

WELL LTE SEE WHAT HAPPENS>> HE'S ABOUT TO DIE >> THE EKG LINE S FLAT

[pod]

Originally Posted by Sebastian

I think Nostrodamus was just racist.

That is why we have Negrodamus.

CNN had a breaking news banner that said the Italian media was reporting that he died, but then they yanked it...