Aide fuels talk of Pope resigning RHIANNON EDWARD
THE Pope's highest-ranking aide last night fuelled speculation that the ailing pontiff might resign, as it emerged that he came within minutes of death when he was rushed to hospital last week. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, when asked whether the Pope had thought about resigning, responded: "Let's leave this hypothesis up to the Pope's conscience. "We must have great faith in the Pope. He knows what to do." Vatican observers said that the fact Cardinal Sodano had not closed the door on the issue and had responded to the question could mean that senior church officials were discussing such a resignation scenario. Popes can resign but cannot be forced to do so. Despite gasping for breath and feeling as though he was suffocating, the Pope twice refused to go to hospital last week, medical staff have told the Catholic magazine Inside the Vatican. "We caught him by a whisker," one said. "If he had come in ten minutes later, he would have been gone," one said. Pope John Paul II's senior advisers first encouraged him to go to hospital when he began having trouble breathing, but the 84-year-old pontiff "decisively shook his head", the magazine reported. He sat down for dinner as normal and soon suffered a coughing attack and was gasping for breath. But despite the best efforts of his closest aides, it was not until two hours later that the Pope relented, it is claimed. The tenth floor of Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic is permanently reserved for the Pope in case of emergency, but in this case he was probably taken down to a basement intensive care unit with advanced life-support equipment, medical staff say. The reports contradict the official word from the Vatican, where spokesmen have maintained the frail Pope simply suffered a bout of flu. The ten-minute appearance at an open window on Sunday gave the public its first glimpse of the pontiff since his hospitalisation. But the delivery of his blessing created some controversy. A piece of paper covering his face raised suspicion that the voice heard via loudspeakers was actually a recording, a suggestion dismissed as "nonsense" by the Vatican. "In this hospital, in the middle of other sick people to whom my affectionate thoughts go out, I can continue to serve the church and the whole of humanity," the message said. Yesterday the Vatican announced that the Pope would remain in hospital for a few more days as a precaution. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, a spokesman for the pontiff, said he had no fever, was eating regularly and had been sitting in a chair every day for several hours. Officials said his sixth night at the clinic had passed calmly. "His doctors have advised him to stay a few more days," Mr Navarro-Valls said. The Pope, who has Parkinson's disease and hip and knee conditions, was taken to hospital on 1 February. The illness forced him to cancel meetings for the first time in 16 months. "Pius IX was Pope for 32 years. Let's pray that John Paul passes this mark," Cardinal Sodano said, referring to the pontiff ahead of John Paul II on the list of longest-serving popes. "Let's pray in this moment for a long life and for serenity for the Holy Father," he said. "Let's pray that Holy Spirit Consoler is at his side. The affection of the children of the Church is the best medicine for him." -- Cheers, Gabe. Wimbledon .
