Pope fed through nasal tube

2005-03-30 14:23

Vatican City - Pope John Paul II is being fed through a tube in his nose, Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters on Wednesday, adding that his convalescence was "slow" but continued to progress.

The spokesperson, making his first comment about the pope's health in more than two weeks, said the 84-year-old pope had begun taking food through a tube in his nose to increase his calorie intake.

"To improve the caloritic intake and encourage a valid recuperation of strength, internal feeding via the insertion of a naso-gastric tube has begun," Navarro-Valls said in a statement.

The pontiff, who blessed pilgrims from his apartment window earlier on Wednesday, has difficulty swallowing and has visibly lost weight since his discharge from Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 13.

"The pope is spending many hours a day in his armchair, he celebrates Holy Mass in his private chapel and is in working contact with his collaborators, is directly following the activity of the Holy See and the life of the Church," the statement said.

Navarro-Valls said the pope was "continuing his slow and progressive convalescence".

His public audiences remained suspended for the time being, he added.

Significantly, the statement also said that the pope's convalescence was being supervised by the Vatican, "under the direction of Doctor Renato Buzzzonetti, the Holy Father's personal physician".

Vatican sources said the Holy See wanted to distance itself from authorities at the Gemelli, because of recent press reports that the pope faced imminent rehospitalisation.

- AFP