I live in Europe, so the news I get in the mornings is “overnight” news in the US.
It is being announced this morning that the Pope has been given the Last Rites. According to reports, the Pope’s health took a sharp turn for the worse on Thursday night (European time) when he suffered septic shock and circulatory collapse. This news does NOT mean the Pope has died or will definitely die in the next hours, but the decision of the Pope to remain in his Vatican apartments during this decline may have more meaning than first apparent.
While not unexpected, this turn of events is not welcome.
UPDATE: There are two somewhat conflicting reports on this. The latest from the Washington Times talks about the last rites:
ROME — Pope John Paul II was stricken with a sudden urinary tract infection accompanied by a high fever yesterday, and received the last rites amid rising alarm among the world’s Roman Catholics at his dramatically deteriorating health, Vatican sources said.
John Paul, 84, was being treated with antibiotics, and there was growing speculation he might have reached the final crisis after months of precarious health.
As dawn approached, a Polish priest at the Vatican said today the pontiff’s health was stabilizing thanks to antibiotics administered to tame the potentially lethal infection.
Meanwhile, the AP reports the Pope suffered heart failure and is in “very serious condition.”
VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II suffered heart failure during treatment for a urinary tract infection and was in “very serious” condition on Friday, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement that the pope, who was being treated at the Vatican, was given cardio-respiratory assistance after his heart failed Thursday afternoon.
“This morning the condition of the Holy Father is very serious,” the statement said.
However, it said that the pope had participated in a 6 a.m. Mass Friday and was “conscious, lucid, and serene.”
The 84-year-old pontiff’s health declined sharply after he developed a high fever Thursday brought on by the infection. He wished to remain at the Vatican, Navarro-Valls said.
The statement confirmed previous reports that the pope had received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening.
Remember a curious quirk of fate: these celebrity deaths usually come in THREES..
SECOND UPDATE (Jack): It has been announced on CNN International at 10:15 European Time that the Pope did not suffer a heart attack as some reports indicated, and that although he did participate in Mass early Friday morning, his condition has taken a turn for the worse and is now being described as “very grave.” One report states that it has just been announced that he is “now in a coma,” but other Vatican sources are saying he is not in a coma.
Understandibly, the situation in the Vatican regarding news releases appears to be rather chaotic.
Links are currently not available (the CNN International website hasn’t yet been updated) but will be added when possible.