The Hindu : International : Pope vows to continue with his mission

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Monday, Feb 07, 2005

International

International

Pope vows to continue with his mission

Pope John Paul II waves to the faithful from a window of Rome's Agostino Gemelli hospital as he appears for the Sunday Angelus prayer. — AP

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 6. Pope John Paul II, determined to show the faithful he is recovering from his latest health crisis, appeared in an open hospital window on Sunday and vowed to continue his mission despite his age and mounting medical troubles.

He gave his usual brief blessing, but his words, in a gravely voice, were barely understandable.

In a message read out by an archbishop, the frail 84-year-old pope — looking rested and alert — gave thanks for the prayers and affection he has received since he was rushed to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic last Tuesday with breathing trouble brought on by the flu.

It was the first public glimpse of John Paul since his hospitalisation, which rekindled questions about his ability to carry on.

Thousands greet

On St. Peter's Square, where several thousand pilgrims and Romans gathered to see the Pope on four giant video screens, cheers went up as his image appeared. When the Pope is well, he gives his weekly blessing from a Vatican window overlooking the Square.

``To all and each of you I assure you of my gratitude, which is translated into a constant invocation of the Lord according to your intentions as also for the needs of the church and the great issues of the world,'' he said from the hospital in remarks read in Italian by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, a Vatican official from Argentina.

``Thus, also in this hospital, in the middle of other sick people to whom my affectionate thoughts go out, I can continue to serve the church and the entire humanity,'' he said.

``May the expression of my gratitude for the sincere and heartfelt affection reach all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and to all those in every part of the world who are close to me, something which during these days I felt in a particularly intense way.''

For at least a decade, John Paul has had Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder which hampers proper muscle functioning and which could have played a role in the throat spasms that had made it difficult for him to breathe.

He also suffers from crippling hip and knee ailments.

The Pope expressed his gratitude to the medical experts attending him, saying he was ``being helped with loving care by doctors, nurses and health workers whom I thank from my heart.''

Abortion issue

He also spoke out anew against abortion, urging people to ``trust in the life that children who are not yet born silently cry out for.

So many children, who are without families for various reasons, are asking for trust so that they can find a house that will accept them through adoption and temporary care.''

Hospital workers watched with tearful eyes as the Pope sat quietly while the message was read, then gave his blessing and thanked those who had prayed for his recovery.

Others shouted ``Viva il Papa!'' (``Long Live the Pope!'')

Pilgrims gathered on Sunday outside the hospital, where a group of about 20 students from Spain stood vigil. — AP

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