Faithful Pray, Bracing For Loss

Millions of Catholics around the world prayed Friday for Pope John Paul II amid fading hopes that he would recover. From blue-collar workers in Poland to monks in the Arctic and parishioners in the Philippines, services and vigils paid tribute to the pontiff's life.

In Wadowice, the small southern Polish town where the pope grew up, people abandoned school and work and headed for the town's church after the nation's best-known son took a dramatic turn for the worse.

"The only way we can help him is by prayer," said 17-year-old Danuta Chowaniec, one of the worshippers at St. Mary's Church, where the young Karol Wojtyla was baptized. "In spite of these alarming statements from the Vatican, that he is really worse, I still hope he improves."

Krystian Zajac, 47, a plumbing company employee, came to the church in tears.

"This situation is so difficult. I took time off from work to come and pray," he said. "This is the will of God, we just have to pray, everything is in the hands of God."

The Vatican said the 84-year-old pontiff was conscious but in grave condition Friday after suffering cardiovascular collapse during treatment for a urinary tract infection. In St. Peter's Square, thousands of people prayed and gazed up at his third-floor window.

In Washington, the White House said President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, were praying for John Paul.

"The outpouring of love and concern from so many — including millions of Americans — is a testimony to his greatness," spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Catholics across the United States have been praying for their ailing pontiff. In Denver, the crowd at an evening Mass was larger than usual. From Boston to Los Angeles, the faithful lit candles and struggled to articulate their emotions. One woman in Boston says the idea of losing John Paul is "devastating."

The head of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. called on everyone to pray for John Paul.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick said Friday he's praying for the ailing pontiff and wants to "get all those folks who are listening in Washington to pray for the Holy Father too - Catholics and non-Catholics alike."

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski canceled all his meetings for the day, and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi also dropped his public commitments.

Lech Walesa, the former leader of Poland's Solidarity union movement, which drew inspiration from the pope, said it was important to "pray so God leaves him with us for a while."

"I really hope that if the entire world prays hard enough then God will listen," Walesa told The Associated Press by telephone from Prague. "I still hope the pope will pull through."

Newspapers in Italy are devoting most of their Saturday editions to the latest news about the ailing Pope John Paul.

One paper shows a photo of the pontiff, wearing white, with his back to the camera, with the headline, "Ciao, Karol." The pope's first given name is Karol.

Another newspaper reports that the pope, with the help of his private secretary, wrote a note to his aides urging them not to weep for him. The note reportedly said, "I am happy, and you should be as well ... Let us pray together with joy."

Polish public television canceled comedy programs Friday, replacing them with broadcasts of Masses and prayers. Reflecting the strong emotional bond between the pope and his compatriots, worshippers streamed in and out of churches in Warsaw.

"I never cried before. I don't go to church, I don't believe in priests," said Wojtek Wisniewski, an unemployed 40-year-old, as he left the capital's All Saint's Church. "But I believe in the Pope. I love him. He is a saint. He understands people like me and speaks to us. There will never be another person like him."

At a tiny cloister on Norway's Lofoten Islands, north of the Arctic Circle, three Polish monks prayed for the pope.

"Our prayers are more intense today, with what we feel in our hearts," said Dariusz Banasiak, superior of the Cistercian Monastery near Stamsund.

Sympathy crossed religious boundaries for John Paul, who has worked for better relations with both Jews and Muslims. Muslims in France were praying for the pontiff, a leading representative said.

"For us Muslims, he is a man of God, a man who wanted to serve God by serving humanity," said Dalil Boubakeur, who is president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the archbishop of Westminster, said that even for people of other faiths, "he's been a moral voice, and in that sense I think the papacy and what it represents has an even more significant role in the world than it ever had before."

In the Philippines' capital, Manila, Linda Nicol had tears streaming down her face after she and her husband, Romy, said prayers.

"Hopefully he can be given a longer life. He is really well-loved by the people," Nicol said.

In Dublin, 39-year-old Niall Byrne recalled the huge crowds that came to see the pope on his 1979 visit to Ireland, drawn by his "charisma and magnetism."

"He's been my pope for most of my life," said Byrne, who came to St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral to pray for the pontiff. "He really had it. He will be remembered long after other popes are forgotten."

Across the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of people gathered with candles in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in a nighttime vigil for the pope.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe praised the pope's handling of his health setbacks.

"I am feeling a peaceful sadness, because at all times the Pope sets an example ... an example of serenity, of consistency," Uribe said.

Pius Ncube, the archbishop of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe, said he was "praying that he goes home gently."

"At 84 he has lived a full life," Ncube said. "It doesn't make sense to pray for his recovery."