Doctors say Pope is stable but still needs more recovery

Vatican City, Feb 16, 2005 / 22:00 pm

In an interview with the Italian daily “Avvenire,” Dr. Rodolfo Proietti, director of emergency services at Gemelli Hospital, reported that Pope John Paul II was in "good general condition" when he returned to the Vatican on February 10, but that he would still need a period of recovery.

According to Proietti, who coordinated the team of doctors charged with caring for the Pontiff during his recent hospitalization, there is “no mystery” regarding the health of the Pope, and the decision to issue bulletins through Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls was a “mutual agreement.”

Proietti’s statements came as media speculation about the Pope’s health and about his likely absence from the closing Mass of the Roman Curia’s Lenten retreat were on the increase.