For weeks, Roman Catholics have been praying for the health of their spiritual leader, Pope John Paul II. The faithful watched as the ailing pontiff struggled valiantly, but in vain, to speak on Easter Sunday and again last Wednesday. After John Paul's most recent appearance, church leaders announced that the pope had begun to receive nutrition from a tube inserted in his nose.
John Paul suffers from Parkinson's disease, which has made it difficult for him to breathe, speak and walk. On February 24, John Paul had surgery to insert a tube in his throat to help him breathe.
To many, the pope's recent public struggles with pain demonstrated yet again his strength, humility and dignity. Almost 14 years ago, an assassin tried to kill John Paul. Doctors removed part of his intestine. Within nine months of the attempt on his live, he was traveling.
John Paul called on the world's leaders to solve problems peacefully. Many credit John Paul, who was born in Poland, with helping to end communism in Eastern Europe.
As the pope's condition worsened last week, Elzbieta Galuszko, 64, prayed at the church in Wadowice, Poland, where the pope was baptized. "I want him to hold on," she said, "but it is all in God's hands now."