Frail Pope vows to continue his mission

POPE John Paul II vowed yesterday to continue his mission despite his latest health crisis, telling the faithful from the hospital in a message read by an archbishop that he was grateful for their prayers and affection.

"Also in this hospital, in the middle of other sick people to whom my affectionate thoughts go out, I can continue to serve the church and the entire humanity," the 84-year-old Pope said from Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital in remarks read in Italian by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, a Vatican official from Argentina.

An alert-looking John Paul appeared in an open window of the hospital next to the archbishop, giving the world its first glimpse of him since he was rushed to the hospital last Tuesday with breathing trouble brought on by the flu.

Hundreds of pilgrims who gathered on St Peter's Square, a few miles from the hospital, broke into cheers as images of the Pope filled four giant video screens set up on the square.

"Today I speak to you from the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where I have been for a few days, being helped with loving care by doctors, nurses and health workers whom I thank from my heart," the Pope's message said.

"May the expression of my gratitude for the sincere and heartfelt affection reach all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and to all those in every part of the world who are close to me, something which during these days I felt in a particularly intense way," he said.

The Pope's message also spoke out anew against abortion urging people to "trust in the life that children who are not yet born silently cry out for."

"So many children, who are without families for various reasons, are asking for trust so that they can find a house that will accept them through adoption and temporary care," the Pope said.

The ANSA news agency reported that the pope's fifth night at the hospital passed calmly.

Police tightened security around the hospital, posting snipers on the roof over the pope's 10th-floor suite as officers checked litter bins and patrolled with bomb-sniffing dogs.

The Vatican's number two official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, expressed hope for the ailing pontiff .

"I'm confident that with the help of prayer and of the doctors, the pope will be able to return to the Vatican within a few days," ANSA quoted the cardinal as saying.