Pope fights his own pain in observance of Jesus' crucifixion

By Frances D'Emilio
Associated Press

ROME — Pope John Paul II, not strong enough to make the customary walk with a cross in the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum, stood as the ceremony neared its end and, for a few minutes, held the cross that had been carried by other celebrants.

Recalling the suffering of Jesus as his crucifixion approached, John Paul's own suffering was evident. Stooped, trembling and often grimacing in pain, John Paul has been unable to carry on like he has for years.

But the pontiff has insisted on celebrating Easter ceremonies, and the Vatican has set up a special altar in St. Peter's Basilica to avoid having him climb steps, a top papal aide said.

"The pope is better than he was at the beginning of Holy Week, so much so that (tonight) and Sunday, it is foreseen that the pope himself will celebrate" the Easter Masses, Monsignor Piero Marini, who assists John Paul at major public ceremonies, told Italian state TV.

The Holy Week, a grueling week packed with public appearances, has drawn extra attention to the pope's physical condition.

He ceded his usual place to other prelates for several events during Holy Week, the most important stretch of the church calendar. The Vatican hasn't said what caused the pope to scale back his participation, but said in February that arthrosis, a joint disease, in one of his knees, was to blame for the cancellation of several public appearances.

John Paul, who became pontiff in 1978, suffers a Parkinson's disease-like tremor and has had difficulty walking since a 1994 hip surgery.

At the Good Friday observance, John Paul used to carry a wooden cross and walk at the head of the half-mile procession. But last year, John Paul who turns 82 in May, bowed to his condition and only walked a short stretch.

This year, as the procession drew to a close, John Paul stood up from his chair on a rise overlooking the faithful and gripped the wooden cross. But he took no steps. His lips were pressed closed in what appeared to be prayerful concentration.

He did keep up one Good Friday tradition. He spent an hour in the Basilica hearing confessions from five women and four men of various nationalities chosen from the crowd.

A day earlier, for the first time in his papacy, John Paul let two cardinals perform the ritual Holy Thursday washing and kissing of the feet of priests, a ritual symbolizing humility. On Palm Sunday and in ceremonies Thursday, the pope sat on the side while a cardinal celebrated Mass.

The ongoing decrease in John Paul's strength and stamina has been dramatic. Just a year ago, the pope was able to move down a line of a dozen seated, white-robed priests to perform the ritual foot-washing.

Marco Politi, a papal biographer writing in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica, said John Paul's aides are wondering how he will cope with the stairs to get on and off an airplane. Ahead of him are trips scheduled in May to Bulgaria, in July to Canada, Mexico and Guatemala, and in August to Poland. Politi said the Vatican has resisted suggestions that the pontiff use a wheelchair.