CNN just reported that there are unconfirmed reports from the Italian media that the Pope has died. We will put something up here once we get confirmed reports.
A check of MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News and BBC show that none of them have posted this news so far. So although it appears quite likely, it is NOT confirmed.
(We will be in and out today but WILL post info and a personal anecdote about how we heard about his appointment — in the event these reports are confirmed).
UPDATE: No reports so far confirm the CNN report based on the Italian newspapers. The latest reports say the Pope is “clinging to life” and on a downward spiral:
VATICAN CITY Apr 1, 2005 — Pope John Paul II was clinging to life Friday as his condition deteriorated further, and the Vatican said his breathing was shallow and his kidneys were failing after complications from a urinary tract infection. Millions of faithful around the world prayed for the fading life of the pontiff.
In St. Peter’s Square, tens of thousands prayed into the night for the 84-year-old pontiff, with many tearfully gazing up at his third-floor window.
“This evening or this night, Christ opens the door to the pope,” Angelo Comastri, the pope’s vicar general for Vatican City, told the crowd.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.