Pope Enters Rome Hospital

Pope John Paul II, ailing for much of the past year, entered a Rome hospital Sunday to prepare for surgery as speculation mounted about the nature of his illness and the length of his reign.

The pope’s doctors say the pontiff, 76, suffers from recurrent, acute attacks of appendicitis and may be affected by scar tissue built up from previous operations. They plan to remove his appendix Tuesday, after running further medical tests.

But press reports quoting doctors outside the pope’s medical team have suggested his problem may be anything from a benign tumor to an abscess on the intestinal wall.