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Pope speaks to top Vatican official in latest sign of recovery March 1, 2005 - 14:08 VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul managed to speak in two languages with a top Vatican official Tuesday in the first clear sign the pontiff was regaining his voice after throat surgery. The meeting with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger reinforced Vatican statements that the 84-year-old Pope was making strides through vocal and respiratory therapy less than a week after receiving a breathing tube. It also sent a message that John Paul may remain fully engaged in important church affairs from his 10th-floor suite at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital. "The Pope spoke with me in German and in Italian," said Ratzinger, a German who runs a powerful Vatican office that deals with issues of Roman Catholic doctrine. "I am happy to say that the Holy Father is fully alert mentally and also able to say the essential things with his voice." Ratzinger did not elaborate on what the Pope said or how long he spoke, but his rare meeting with reporters strengthened the image the Vatican is putting forward: The Pope is rebounding and remains in control. "He is well. His condition is improving," papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters at the hospital. The Vatican has never officially confirmed the Pope's other major health concern, Parkinson's disease, which causes progressive loss of muscle control and was expected to complicate the pontiff's post-surgery progress. But Ratzinger indirectly acknowledged the Pope's condition, saying an association for Parkinson's sufferers wrote the Pope to express thanks for helping the "image" of those afflicted. "The Holy Father has the courage to appear in public as a person who suffers and who continues to work," Ratzinger told Vatican Radio. Navarro-Valls said the Pope "spent a good night" and celebrated mass in his hospital suite - where he made a surprise appearance at the window Sunday and touched his throat in a gesture widely interpreted as an apology that he had to remain silent. Doctors had told the Pope to rest his voice for several days after the Thursday surgery. He is now undergoing daily therapy to learn to breathe and speak with the tube. "Everything is normal," Navarro-Valls said. "He is a good patient." The Vatican cancelled the Pope's Wednesday general audience, but there's been no decision yet on whether John Paul will appear again on Sunday. The Rome daily Il Messaggero reported that the pontiff hopes to say "Grazie," or "Thank you," at Sunday's prayers. The Vatican has offered few precise details on the Pope's condition or given any idea when he might be able to leave the hospital. The next official health update is expected Thursday. But it appears likely his current hospitalization will be longer than the last: 10 days of treatment at Gemelli for breathing problems that began exactly a month ago, Feb. 1. Some Italian reports suggest the Pope could be under medical care until Easter - March 27 - even if there are no setbacks. Britain's Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said it appeared the Pope will "do what he can" to manage top-level church affairs while undergoing medical treatment and therapy. "Naturally (his duties) have been reduced in recent months and that will continue, to a certain extent, in the future depending on his health," Murphy-O'Connor told reporters. "I don't think anything dramatic has happened at this time." A group of 55 Polish pilgrims from Olsztyn prayed beneath John Paul's room Tuesday, and brought him some presents from their hometown: Polish honey for the pontiff's throat and some drawings by children hospitalized in Olsztyn, said Viktor Nichtmauser, a member of the group. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UwRTUD/UOnJAA/i1hLAA/wpWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> "[M]y ministry is that of servus servorum Dei." --Pope John Paul II (Ut Unum Sint, no. 88) "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." --Matthew 16:18 Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pope-John-Paul-II/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
