From The New York Times:

Doctors Insert Feeding Tube Through Pope's Nose
By IAN FISHER
Published: March 30, 2005

ROME, March 30 - In another sign of the diminishing health of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican said today that he has begun to be fed through a tube inserted in his nose.


"To improve his caloric intake and promote an efficient recovery of his strength, nutrition via the positioning of a nasal-gastric tube has begun," the pope's chief spokesman, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said in a brief statement, the first in more than two weeks on the pope's medical health.


Italian newspapers have been filled with speculation in the last day that the pope would be readmitted to the hospital this week for a different kind of feeding tube, one inserted surgically directly into his stomach.


The nasal-gastric tube would not seem to rule this out: Medical experts say the nasal-gastric tubes are often used only temporarily, because they are uncomfortable and allow for less nutrition than surgically-implanted ones.


Not long before the news was released, the pope appeared briefly at his window before pilgrims on St. Peter's Square; as on Easter Sunday, he tried to speak but was unable to do so. He looked thinner than usual but otherwise seemed alert and relatively energetic.


The news marked one more milestone in a precipitous recent decline in the health of Pope John Paul II, who is 84 and has suffered for years from Parkinson's disease. He was hospitalized twice in February for the flu and acute trouble breathing, and on Feb. 24 had a tracheotomy to allow a breathing tube to be inserted in his windpipe.


He was released two weeks ago, but was not well enough to attend any of the Holy Week ceremonies, except Easter Sunday mass, when he tried - but failed - to read a blessing before tens of thousands of pilgrims.


The medical bulletin today was slightly unusual in that, unlike earlier ones, it seemed to strike a less upbeat tone. Dr. Navarro-Valls said that the Pope "continues his slow and progressive convalescence."


"The pope spends many hours of the day in his armchair, celebrated the Holy Mass in his private chapel and is in working contact with his collaborators, directly following the activities of the Holy See and the life of the Church," the statement read.


He added that for the moment, public audiences are still not being scheduled.

Welcome to the real world Pope. I hope he gets better soon.

Exactly. If God really did make the Pope the supreme, earthly authority on all things religious, why would he ever get sick?

This was in a Breaking News email from CNN earlier (4:30e)

-- Pope John Paul II has been given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church as his health deteriorates, a Vatican source tells CNN.

(full story: http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/31/pope1/index.html )

I don't think it will be long--maybe another week.

I think it will be in the next few hours.

Last I heard , they were administering the Last Rites to him - At least that is what they said on the news.

Now I hear that he's in a coma. This isn't good, wow. First Terri and now the Pope, dear me.

This is just the media hyping up the current hot keywords. Coma, feeding tubes, last rites, low carb, threat, Jessie Jackson, terror etc...

They only make you THINK that all of a sudden everyone is going into comas, requiring feeding tubes filled with the threat of a low carb Jessie Jackson when in fact it's really been that way all along.

But seriously, people in comas need feeding tubes. Alot of people with trachiostomies need feeding tubes. The news never made any mention of it until the three ring circus known as Terry Schiavo. Now everyone that has feeding tubes will get their 15 minutes of fame. It's just too bad they'll be too busy being in a coma to realize it.

Pretty soon the CEO of this multi-national corporation will kick it and the board members will promote a new CEO who will be a complete tyrant and rule the company with an iron fist.

I just checked. The Pope is alert.

That sounds stupid, but it's true. I know too many old people, and too many nurses. All the elderly die in threes around here; and any nurse will tell you the same thing happens in hospitals.