Pope John Paul II Has Died

[Link47]

AP is now reporting this.

[ April 02, 2005, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: Link47 ]

[Swordmaster Link]

Ahem, "has" died.

Yeah, I'm watching the report on TV now.

[The Missing Link]

Let us keep his acts and deeds and life in our thoughts and prayers.


"There are some who call me... Link?"
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[Chunky Kong12345]

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II, who headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, died on Saturday evening, the Vatican said in a statement.

The news was immediately announced to around 60,000 gathered in St Peter's Square and was met with a long applause, an Italian sign of respect. Bells tolled and many people wept openly.

"Our Holy Father John Paul, 84, has returned to the house of the Father," Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the crowds.

"The Holy Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. in his private apartment. All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution `Universi Dominici Gregis' that was written by John Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion."

Papal spokesman makes announcement
The announcement came from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls and was distributed to journalists via e-mail.

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The pope died after suffering heart and kidney failure following two hospitalizations in as many months. Just a few hours earlier, the Vatican had said he was in "very serious" condition but responded to members of the papal household.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican No. 2 official, immediately led a tearful crowd of 70,000 people in St. Peter's Square in prayers for the dead pope.

Some people held their hands to their heads in disbelief, others sobbed, openly.

The windows of the pope's apartment were still lit up following the announcement of his death.

Before the pope's death, thousands of pilgrims had gathered on St. Peter’s Square to stand vigil, many tearfully gazing up at his third-floor window. The faithful around the world joined them in prayer.

'Placid and serene' before death
Vatican Cardinal Achille Silvestrini visited John Paul Saturday morning, accompanied by another cardinal, Jean-Louis Tauran.

“I found him relaxed, placid, serene. He was in his bed. He was breathing without labor. He looked like he lost weight,” Silvestrini said.

He said the when he and Tauran came into the room, the pope seemed to recognize them.

“The pope showed with a vibration of his face that he understood, indicating with a movement of his eyes. He showed he was reacting,” he added.

Around the world, people of different faiths had joined in prayer for John Paul.

“Catholics, fellow Christians, ... will be praying for him at this time as he comes toward the end of his extraordinary and wonderful life,” said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the archbishop of Westminster and one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Britain, speaking to reporters outside London’s Westminster Cathedral.

'Man of peace'
In France, Muslim leader Dalil Boubakeur said Muslims had been praying for the pope, whom he described as a “man of peace” whose stature was a determining factor for change in the world.

In the pope’s home country, Poles gathered at churches as word spread Friday morning of his deteriorating condition.

“I want him to hold on but it is all in God’s hands now,” said 64-year-old Elzbieta Galuszko at the church where the pope was baptized in Wadowice, southern Poland. “We can only pray for him so he can pull through these difficult moments.”

The pope received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening. Formerly called the last rites, the sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling imminent death. It is performed both for patients at the point of death and for those who are very sick — and it may be repeated.

Hospitalized twice last month following two breathing crises, and fitted with a breathing tube and a feeding tube, John Paul had become a picture of suffering.

His 26-year papacy was marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope turned to as he also battled Parkinson’s disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.

[imported_Andrew]

His son takes over now, right?

[L007 is Undecided]

*Sigh* To state it for those who don't know how it goes... First, there's 9 days of mourning, then the Cardinals are gathered. The Pope picked quite a bit of them. At least a hundred. Anyway, I forgot how it goes, but John Paul II devised a better system to picking a Pope. Someone said that it would take about a month for the next Pope to be picked.

[imported_Andrew]

^ That was a joke btw... you see, cause the Pope (allegedly) can't have sex... ha ha...>_>

[OcarinaMan]

Tell that to Pope Alexander VI...

[Codiekitty]

Keyword is "allegedly".


Where are these lemmings going? The Super Nintendo Super Shire! Hop in line and follow them there!

[DarthButcher]

They can still have a child, ala the Da Vinci Code.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

[Link2000]

Um.. no. If the a priest gets married he's not a priest anymore.

Da Vinci code had nothing to do with Pope's marrying anyway... plus it's a fiction book.

[Swordmaster Link]

^
^ Something tells me you didn't know the Da Vinci Code is fiction.

[CaptHayfever]

^A lot of people don't know that.
Actually, I didn't know that until I actually picked up a copy in a bookstore one day. Everyone around me talked about the book like some kind of exposE. (can't do accents on the lappy)

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[ocarinagirl]

Damn. Well, he lived a pretty long and full life, so...yeah.

And anyway...

Originally posted by Darth Butcher: Freak:
They can still have a child, ala the Da Vinci Code.

You're thinking of Angels and Demons, son.