Good News for Pope John Paul

By John Kohan

But at the Vatican problems are piling up

After weeks of uncertainty and pessimism, the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome had some good news. Its famous patient, Pope John Paul II, had finally conquered a lingering infection and fever and was well enough for a long-delayed second operation. In what was termed a "perfectly successful" procedure, Gemelli doctors reconnected segments of the Pontiffs colon, a simple operation that reversed the intestinal bypass surgery performed last May after the attempt on his life. With a reticence typical of reports on the Pope's progress, Vatican spokesmen waited half an hour to inform the public about the operation. By the time Gemelli issued the hopeful medical bulletin, John Paul was already conscious and smiling as hospital staff members wheeled him back to his suite. He will still have to spend at least ten days in Gemelli and a longer period of convalescence at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo before resuming his duties at the Vatican.

Early hopes that the Pope would make a rapid and complete recovery from the assassination attempt had faded when he was forced to return to the hospital last June. Though Gemelli doctors reported that John Paul was gaining in his battle with cytomegalovirus, an infection similar to mononucleosis, rumors persisted that he was more seriously ill than either hospital or Vatican officials were willing to admit. In a prerecorded television address to the International Eucharistic Conference in Lourdes last month, John Paul appeared as a wan reflection of his former robust self. Hunched over a table, his face pale and his hands trembling, he explained that "God has permitted that at present I myself, in my own body, experience suffering and weakness."

For 2 1/2 months John Paul has had to delegate most of the responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the church to Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, Vatican Secretary of State. Casaroli, 66, presides over weekly sessions of the Council of the Curia, the Vatican's chief administrative body, and keeps a watchful eye over the Holy See's worldwide communication network, as well as its complex local government. For weeks the Italian press has been referring to him as "il Vice Papa." Even so, many matters of doctrine and morals, which only the Pope can deal with, have been piling up. John Paul, for example, must rule on all annulment petitions and requests from clerics who want to leave the priesthood. Cardinals need to be appointed in a number of large urban dioceses, among them Milan, Paris and Washington. Crucial projects to overhaul the Vatican's financial organization and to revise the church's canon law have been delayed, and a shake-up of the cumbersome Curia is long overdue. All await papal supervision and approval.

In the days since his fever subsided, the Pope's condition has noticeably improved. He gained back seven of the 20 lbs. he lost, and has been meeting daily with various Cardinals. Despite the good prognosis for full recovery that followed last week's operation, nagging doubts remained about the future of John Paul's papacy. He has made no secret of the fact that he would rather serve as pastor to a far-flung flock than face the daily grind of church business. Vatican officials wonder what he will do if he is no longer able to carry on those winning, globetrotting ways that have helped him dramatize to the world a conservative and sometimes unpopular vision of the church. Because of his long convalescence, the Pope has already had to cancel scheduled trips to Switzerland, France and Spain.

The fluctuating health bulletins from Gemelli, before the operation, prompted speculation in the press that John Paul might do the unthinkable and abdicate, rather than limp along as a semi-invalid Pope confining his actions to the minutiae of the Vatican bureaucracy. There had even been talk of a new papal conclave. This time around, the early favored papabili were Italians who have reputations as seasoned administrators. One was Casaroli, a moderate who has gained exposure as John Paul's loyal second in command. The other: Giovanni Benelli, 60, the conservative, often abrasive Archbishop of Florence, who was runner-up to John Paul at the 1978 conclave. There are some ancient precedents for a papal abdication. Benedict IX (1032-45) sold his office outright to the reforming Pope Gregory VI; Celestine V (Aug. 29-Dec. 13, 1294) resigned to become a hermit after realizing he was not suited for the job; Gregory XII (1406-15) abdicated as part of a deal to end a schism and reunite the church. But Vatican insiders insisted that John Paul believes God has chosen him for the office, and will not voluntarily give it up. Besides, asked a Vatican official, "what do you do with an ex-Pope, especially if he is as strong a man as Wojtyla?"

More recent speculation has focused on what new direction a less strong and energetic John Paul might give his pontificate. Would he, like ailing Popes Pius IX and Leo XIII, retire to a life of meditation and reflection behind Vatican walls, rather than touring the globe?

Even before the assassination attempt, many hard-liners in the Curia, who are unhappy with the freewheeling style of this Pope, hoped he would consider doing just that. But there are indications that John Paul has other things in mind. After lunching with the Pope several days before his operation, Poland's new Primate Jozef Glemp declared that John Paul will "almost certainly" be traveling next year. As it happens, next year Poland will be marking the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the nation's most venerated religious symbol, the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, clearly a celebration the former Cardinal from Cracow would move heaven and earth not to miss.

-- By John Kohan. Reported by Barry Kalb and Wilton Wynn/Rome

With reporting by Barry Kalb, Wilton Wynn/Rome

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