Pope Returns to Hospital After Flu Relapse
Pope John Paul II was admitted again to a hospital this morning after showing signs of a relapse of the flu syndrome that had affected him in preceding weeks, the Vatican said.
Pope John Paul II was admitted again to a hospital this morning after showing signs of a relapse of the flu syndrome that had affected him in preceding weeks, the Vatican said. Officials say the Pope was taken by ambulance at 10:45 a.m.
According to Italian news agency ANSA (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata), the Pope was taken into Gemelli Polyclinic in a stretcher after arriving conscious in a private ambulance. The report quoted people who saw him enter the Rome hospital as saying his face looked "quite relaxed.” Shortly afterwards, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls reported that the pope was taken to the hospital for "opportune specialized treatment and for further tests."
A medical health bulletin is to be issued Friday morning, and no details on the pope's health were expected to be released before that, the Vatican said.
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Vatican officials reportedly played down the seriousness of the hospitalization, saying a patient of the Pope's age is always at risk from the flu. However, according to the Associated Press, aides reported on condition of anonymity that the Pope had a fever, congestion and had suffered a relapse of breathing problems.
Because of his ailments, there has long been speculation that the Pope might consider resigning. That debate was fueled during his hospitalization earlier this month when the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, declined to rule out that possibility, saying such matters should be left entirely to the Pope who "knows what to do". In addition to the flu, the Pope also suffers from Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.
Because of the Pope's frequent visits to the Gemelli Polyclinic, the hospital has been dubbed by the Italian press as "The Third Vatican," after the seat of the Holy See on St. Peter's Square and the Pope's summer residence in the town of Castel Gandolfo.
Thursday's hospitalization was the Pope's eighth since his election in 1978.
