ROME – Pope John Paul II on Sunday spoke publicly, although briefly, for the first time in weeks and then left the hospital where he has been recovering since emergency surgery on Feb. 24 raised fears about his health and ability to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
As night fell over the city, John Paul boarded a silver Mercedes minivan, made the sign of the cross, and then headed home to the Vatican, where aides said he would resume his convalescence. His participation in Easter observations remains uncertain.
During the 3.5-mile ride from the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital to St. Peter’s Square, the pope, seated in the front passenger seat of the van and dressed in white vestments, waved to thousands of onlookers, some chanting “Viva il papa!”
John Paul, who is 84 and suffers from Parkinson’s disease, was rushed to the hospital twice in February with severe breathing problems. He spent nine days there early in the month, was released and then rushed back Feb. 24, when he underwent an emergency tracheotomy, the cutting of a hole in the throat and insertion of a tube to assist breathing.
The trip home Sunday evening did not have the same theater of the earlier discharge, when he traveled from Gemelli with great fanfare in the famous glass-encased “popemobile.” Some of his aides felt he was too weak for such a show.
But neither was Sunday’s release staged out of the public eye.
Italian TV broke into regular programming to broadcast the return live, including pictures from inside the vehicle, over John Paul’s shoulder, provided by an official Vatican cameraman. The interior light was left on to illuminate the pontiff for all to see.
Earlier Sunday, for the noontime Angelus prayer, the pope spoke briefly from his hospital window to the crowd below. In a hoarse, hard-to-understand voice, and reading from a paper, he thanked his followers for their presence and then said a few words in Polish to pilgrims from his birthplace of Wadowice.
“Greetings in Christ,” he concluded in Italian. “A good Sunday and good rest of the week to everyone.” The last time the pope was seen speaking in public was Feb. 23, when he read a three-paragraph statement and greeted pilgrims in six languages. Even then, though, his appearance was by a television hookup between his private studio and St. Peter’s Square.
Aides of the increasingly incapacitated pope say he has been following a regime of therapeutic exercises for his breathing and speaking.
But for the first time in his 26-year papacy, John Paul has delegated nearly all Easter duties to cardinals and other senior prelates. It was important to the Vatican that the pope be home in time for the start of the Holy Week next Sunday, the most sacred period on the Christian calendar, but his participation in what can be a grueling series of services will be limited.
The pope’s declining health has led to speculation over whether he might retire, or if the end of his reign is nigh. He has repeatedly asserted he will continue in St. Peter’s throne until his “last breath.” And cardinals who know him well say he remains resilient.
Earlier Sunday, the pope’s weekly prayer and message, read by another prelate, gave thanks to the media, especially television broadcasters and journalists, who carry forth a message that he can no longer deliver. The message seemed especially appropriate since this once-prolific pope, for whom speaking and writing have become so difficult, must increasingly rely on secondhand ways to communicate.
“It is precious for me to remember that it is possible to feed one’s spirit also through radio, television and the Internet,” he said, praising “this new form of evangelization.” “Thanks to their service, the faithful, in every part of the world, can feel me closer to them, and they can accompany me with affection and prayer.”
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