Pope recovering well after flu scare

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul spent a peaceful night in hospital after receiving urgent medical treatment for breathing difficulties, a Vatican source said on Wednesday.

The 84-year-old Pope was rushed to Rome's Gemelli hospital late Tuesday after a bout of influenza suddenly worsened, raising fears that one of the longest and most remarkable papacies might be drawing to a close.

However, Vatican officials urged caution on Wednesday, saying there was no need for alarm.

"The Pope rested well. Let's stay calm about this," said a Vatican priest, who declined to be named.

Doctors had been expected to release a medical bulletin on the Pope's health at 9:00 a.m. (3 a.m. EST), but staff at the Gemelli hospital said they would not be making any statements.

"We have nothing to say on the Pope's condition and nowhere to say it," said Gemelli spokesman Nicola Cerbino.

The Vatican said it was preparing a statement but did not say when it would be released.

The Vatican said on Tuesday night the Pope had suffered an acute attack of laryngospasm, a blockage of air to the lungs, and needed urgent medical care. But it said his condition did not warrant him being placed in an intensive care unit.

The Polish Pontiff has been treated at least six times in the Gemelli during his 26-year papacy, and has his own suite on the 10th floor of the hospital on the outskirts of Rome.

Medical experts said acute laryngospasm was very rarely fatal, but cautioned that the Pope's age and medical history complicated matters.

"He has other medical problems and anything that perturbs his respiratory system is probably a serious event," said Gerald Berke, chief of head and neck surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center.

The Pope has occasionally had difficulty breathing since he developed Parkinson's Disease a decade ago, a disorder of the central nervous system that can affect chest muscle activity. The flu apparently complicated his condition.

HISTORICAL PAPACY

The Pope left his mark on the world like few others in the 20th century, playing a leading role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 and also working tirelessly to revolutionise relations with other religions.

While nearly all of the world's 1 billion Catholics cheered his defense of human rights, he drew criticism from within his own flock for his unbending stance against contraception, gay marriages and women priests.

As day dawned in Rome, the world's media had gathered outside the Gemelli hospital, flanked by dozens of police brought in to keep roads and gates to the hospital clear.

"I just found out that the Pope is here. I am really, really sorry. I hope he pulls through," said Mario Celli, who came to the barred hospital gates just before sunrise.

The Pope came down with the flu on Sunday and canceled all his public engagements for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The last time he skipped an audience for health reasons was in September 2003, when he had an intestinal ailment.

Rome has been hit by an unusual cold snap and the winter chill has coincided with an outbreak of influenza across Italy that has laid up one out of 100 people.

DECLINE

The Pope's health had been steady in recent months, but over the past decade, the world has watched as the man once known as God's Athlete slowed down to the point where he could no longer walk or pronounce most of his speeches.

Each time his health faltered, speculation has bubbled up over his possible successor, including whether he would be from the Third World where the Church is expanding.

John Paul, the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years, has appointed nearly all the cardinals who will enter a conclave to elect his successor, thus stacking the odds that the next Pope will not tamper with controversial church teachings.

The first time the Pope -- formerly Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow -- went to the Gemelli Hospital, considered one of Italy's best medical institutions, was in May 1981, after Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca shot him in St. Peter's Square.

Five hours of emergency surgery saved his life.

In 1992 he underwent major surgery to remove a large intestinal tumour. He returned to the hospital in 1994 when he slipped in his bath at the Vatican and broke his right thigh.

- REUTERS