| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weak pope ends Slovakia tour
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II has arrived back in Italy after a grueling four-day trip to Slovakia, where he appeared particularly frail and short of breath. The pontiff went to his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, just outside of Rome, where he plans to finish off his vacation until the end of the month. Before leaving Slovakia, the pope celebrated Mass and beatified two Slovaks before 200,000 people in Bratislava's Petrzalka Square. While the pope seemed to fare better Sunday than he did the day before, he still trembled and was unable to finish his messages to the crowd. The 83-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church appeared extremely weak Saturday as he celebrated a two-and-a-half-hour Mass attended by 100,000 faithful near the small town of Rožnava in eastern Slovakia. His breathing was labored, and he had difficulty pronouncing the prayers during Saturday's service. The pope's left hand trembled, a symptom of Parkinson's disease. At one point, he read a portion of his welcoming remarks twice, and, during the homily, he stopped reading altogether. A cardinal completed the reading for him. Thousands from neighboring countries of Hungary and Poland, where John Paul was born, attended both Masses. Many waved their countries' flags and chanted for him to continue. Though the three day trek around the eastern European nation has been a physical test for the pontiff, Vatican officials say he will continue his travels, and has already planned four trips for next year, including one to France. The pope, who also has a host of other ailments, including hip and knee problems, has traveled against the advice of his doctors and associates, Vatican officials say.
Earlier in the week, the pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, downplayed concerns that the pontiff was unfit to continue his trip. His schedule has been kept light, with one major event per day. This is his third visit to Slovakia as pope. His last one took place in 1995. Catholic officials in Slovakia have said they need his help to block passage of a draft bill on abortion that would allow the procedure to be performed up to the sixth month of pregnancy in cases where the fetus had serious genetic defects. At present, first-trimester abortions are legal in Slovakia. Church officials introduced John Paul to two formerly conjoined twins who were successfully separated a few months after their birth and said the twins underscore the joy their mother would have lost had she undergone an abortion. A recent poll found most Slovaks declare themselves Catholic, but favor more liberal laws on abortion. These opinions reflect the views of much of the European Union, which Slovakia plans to join in May.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
