VATICAN, March 31, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the reticence of the Vatican to be candid about the state of the Pope’s health, media reports have been buzzing with reports from unconfirmed Vatican sources. The latest and most serious report comes from CNN indicating that a Vatican source has revealed that Pope John Paul II received last rites Thursday night.
AP is reporting that papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that today “The Holy Father was struck today by a high fever caused by a confirmed infection of the urinary tract.”
In an official Vatican release on the pontiff’s condition Wednesday, Navarro-Valls confirmed the Pope was receiving nutrition through a feeding tube. “In order to improve the caloric intake and to favor a valid recuperation of strength, enteral nutrition has been started by placing a nasal-gastric probe (tube), he said. “All public audiences remain suspended,” he added.
However he also said, “The Holy Father continues his slow and progressive convalescence. The Pope spends many hours each day in an armchair, celebrates Mass in his private chapel and is in working contact with his collaborators, directly following the activity of the Holy See and the life of the Church.”