Pope John Paul II, The Most Influential Individual of Our Time, May Be Near Death

Pope John Paul II is in very serious condition after he suffered a heart attack last night, and it appears he is near death. The Vatican's 6 a.m. statement reads:

"This morning the Holy Father's health situation is very serious. Yesterday afternoon, March 31, as already announced, following a diagnosed infection of the urinary tract, the Pope suffered septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse. The Holy Father is being treated in his private apartment by the Vatican's own medical team. The Pope also received all appropriate cardio-respiratory assistance. The pope himself asked to stay in the Vatican and to be treated by his medical team there.

The Pope is conscious, aware, and tranquil. He received the Sacrament of the Sick at 7:17 last night. At six this morning he concelebrated Mass."

Pope John Paul II is arguably the most powerful and influential spiritual, moral, and even political leader of our time, and together with Ronald Reagan the individual perhaps most responsible for the collapse of communism. He has been an unparalleled conservative force in the church and world. He may be the most important public figure in the last century.

It is difficult to imagine a pontiff of such intellectual, spiritual, and political expansiveness and strength succeeding him. Christians of all traditions should pray for this spiritual lion in winter, that he might continue to lead, in his words, “the great springtime of the human spirit.”

--James Jewell