Im sure all of you know by now but I wish to ask all of you give your prayers and well wishes in your own way as Pope John Paul II is near death and will probably not live long. He has been an influencial figure and spiritual figure head who has not only affected Cahtolics but other religions as well. I only wish that his passing will be painless.

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VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II's condition remains "very grave," and he is showing the first signs of losing consciousness, the Vatican said Saturday.

The 84-year-old pope's health has rapidly deteriorated, with his heart and kidneys failing after he suffered a urinary tract infection.

But John Paul is not technically in a coma and opens his eyes when spoken to, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters. He said the pope was still speaking as of late Friday.

"Mass was celebrated at 7:30 this morning in the presence of the pope," he said, adding that the pontiff did not take part.

"Sometimes it seems as if he were resting with his eyes closed, but when you speak to him, he opens his eyes," Navarro-Valls said.

He said aides had told the pope that thousands of young people were in St. Peter's Square on Friday evening.

"In fact, he seemed to be referring to them when, in his words, and repeated several times, he seemed to have said the following sentence: `I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you,'" the spokesman said.

John Paul's overall condition, which began declining Thursday, remained unchanged, the Vatican said.

"The general cardio-respiratory and metabolic conditions are substantially unvaried and therefore very grave. Since dawn this morning there have been first signs that consciousness is being affected," Navarro-Valls said.

Tourists and pilgrims streamed anew into St. Peter's Square on Saturday, and around the world, priests readied Roman Catholics for the pope's passing. Many expressed hope that his final hours would be peaceful.

"Now he prepares to meet the Lord," Cardinal Francis George said at a Mass in Chicago on Friday. "As the portals of death open for him, as they will for each of us ... we must accompany him with our own prayers."

A workman in the square, declining to give his name, told The Associated Press that crews were taking down the canopy on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, which had covered an altar during Easter Sunday Mass. They said they had orders to clear the space for when the pope's coffin eventually is carried into the square.

Police in a motorized cart moved around the square, telling some faithful who were kneeling on the cobblestones to get up. Police said they were given orders that no one be allowed to sit or pray on the pavement in the square.

In a sign of the pope's decline, several cardinals from the United States and Latin America said they were heading to Rome. After the official mourning period following the death of a pope, cardinals hold a secret vote in the Sistine Chapel to choose a successor.

A dozen nuns said the rosary Saturday while standing at the foot of the obelisk in St. Peter's and looking at the pope's windows. They had just attended a morning Mass at the basilica.

Sister Arlete said she felt both sadness and happiness: "Sadness because he's dying, but happiness that his suffering will end, because he's truly suffering. He's a spiritual father who helps us grow in life with so much love and peace."

The Il Secolo XIX newspaper of Genoa reported that the pope, with the help of his private secretary Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, wrote a note to his aides urging them not to weep for him.

"I am happy, and you should be as well," the note reportedly said. "Let us pray together with joy."
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[ 04-02-2005, 06:23 AM: Message edited by: Harkoliar ]

I am a little confused. I mean such a holy man must be going up and not down. Would one not be happy for him?

Happy in a way that he's better off dead than being in this state. But he's going down just like any other mortal, rest assured.

He was the first polish pontiff. I hope they don't elect another italian, the pole was a nice change, and i think it would be really nice to have another foreign (as in foreign from the vatican's location) pope.
He will be sadly missed.



Jonny!
not the time to be saying this

[ 04-02-2005, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: Intrepid ]

I'm with johnny on this one. The pope looks so bad and grim that I think even he would like to pass on now, instead of living like this for a longer time.
He was a good pope, a bit more open-minded than the most, an it is sad to see him go, but it would be sadder to see him still alive, torturing him with operations and medication to prolongue the torment.

i didn't mean that, i ment the "going down" comment wasn't appropriate

I meant no disrespect. What i meant was that he goes into the ground just like anyone else. It's only natural.

I guess my point was not clear. I mean everyone is praying for him. Are you praying because you want him to live or you want him to die. I am just saying that. Is it not everyones wish to go to heaven and if one person is going there I am sure it is him. So knowing that he is going to heaven would you not be happy for him. I get the feeling that people thought he was a good pope. So I am sure he is going to heaven. His time is up he did a good job now we should be happy?

And johnny I know we all have to go. I am just asking people that are more into the church. If they are happy or sad when you know someone is going to heaven when they die. And yes I know that acked of someone dieing is a very sad part of it. But knowing he is going to heaven you have to be happy?

Ok that is enough talk out of me. I feel I am getting close to be breaking the rules. ;)

I meant no disrespect. What i meant was that he goes into the ground just like anyone else. It's only natural. </font>[/QUOTE]ohh sorry, i thought you ment he's going to hell, in reply to mack_attack's comment about going to "a better place" or something like that.
sorry for the misunderstanding.

that's what i thought you ment above

I for one feel sad that he has to go because he is one of those figurehead and rolemodel the world needs. But im happy as well he will finally retire up in heaven and be drinking beers with God :D . (kidding of course ;) ) but I am sure he will be going to a better place.

I am sure johnny meant no harm with his comment going down as some people may misunderstand it as "going down to hell if misread"

<font color=plum>You're right, <font color=white>Mack_Attack</font>. The reports from the Vatican on Friday morning stated that the Pope was awake and very serene, despite his very poor physical condition. He knows his time has come and he is ready to move on.

Even though I'm not Catholic, it was painful for me to watch him struggling to speak to the faithful on Easter Sunday. It was evident that just standing at the window was a tremendous struggle for him. It will be a blessed release for him when his soul is released from the failing mortal shell containing it.</font>

Despite my not sharing in his (or others') beleif, i don beleive he has been a force for good in the world, and i have sommed times shared his view and held the same values, as well as sometimes being diomentrically oppossed. Stl i shall regret his pasing. He has shown that relgion can be a force for good in the world, as well as a source of conflict and strife.

For us non-Catholics Pope John Paul II has been a symbol for Catholicism. It'll feel a bit strange when he's gone; he's one of those people you always think will be here.

He's a fighter and a symbol who, for many Poles, stirs feelings of national pride, resentment of communism and profound faith.

It's going to be very strange when he's gone.

As for praying whether he lives or dies, i think he would prefer it if you pray for God's will to be done. I'm not real sure what that is, now, because of how long he is continuing to last, but may God continue to strengthen him. And I dunno, I wouldn't be surprised if him and the big guy cracked open a cold one up there. Or whatever the equivalent is. After all, drinking is not innately evil, but the debauchery that may come from it is, lol.
Oh, since someone asked, as a Catholic, I'm very sad to see him go. Of course, I am glad he is going to be with the Lord, but he will be sorely missed as a very powerful man of simply amazing spirit. I hope someday to have even a small fraction of the good influence and strength of that man. God has, and I hope continues to bless him. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well, I'm anti-religious if anything, but I will truly be sorry to see this man pass away and feel for his suffering at this time.

He has done an awful lot to make sure that his role remains active and relevent in the modern world; insisting on travelling even after his attempted assassination for example when lesser men might have withdrawn to the safety of isolation.

I shall always remember him for the trip to the Holy Lands that he made - the symbolism was very powerful and it must have taken some personal courage on his part too.

Someone who manages to hold such fervent belief, yet still be cool-headed, rational and able to spread the word of tolerance is an inspiration to us all and will be a great loss to the world.

And it's over. :(
[img]smile.gif[/img]

May he rest in peace.

Rest in peace.

I'll just stick to Thank God, the poor guy has finally been allowed to go. He's literally been a shell of a man for years now, and I hope he'll finally finds the rest he's most likely longed for for a long time now.

RIP

May he rest in peace then.

The tragey is thatthe behind the shell his mind was still very active. It was clearly a source of frustration for him, even up until the end, when he tried to speak to those that had gathered. Again, as an atheist I wish him well, where ever he may be, and hope that he found what he beleived he would.

Finally the bell has wrung.. RIP dear Pope John Paul II, and may you enjoy your new life in the kingdom of God.

That's what i was thinking about, especially for the Polish people this must be a difficult time. Poland is almost completely catholic, right ?

Rest in peace, John Paul II.

R.i.P.

Condolences to all catholics everywhere.

He has been a pope since I was 3 years old, will be strange to see someone else in that role.

He is on to green pastures. RIP.

R.I.P. I agree with many, will not feel the same without him around, he lived quite a long life and was really an inspiration to many people. He even forgave the guy who shot him.

Rest in peace.

95% Catholic. Lots of people crying today.

the priest cried in the church i went to mass in. so alot of people feel the sadness of losing someone important like Pope John Paul II. i honestly thought he would have a heart attack because he was so red. anyways.. i also feel the sadness because it is just as you lost a hero.