Pope 'lucid' after heart failure

Pope John Paul II is conscious and lucid after suffering heart problems overnight, the Vatican has announced.
The Pope has breathing difficulties and blood pressure problems, leaving him in a serious but stable condition, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

He said the Pope was able to make the sign of the Cross on Friday morning as aides read the scriptures to him.

After his heart problems on Thursday, the Pope received the Catholics' last rites for the sick and dying.

This was a sign that his closest advisers feared that the end of one of the longest papal reigns was fast approaching, the BBC's David Willey in Rome said.

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