But at the Vatican problems are piling up
After weeks of uncertainty and pessimism, the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome had some good news. Its famous patient, Pope John Paul II, had finally conquered a lingering infection and fever and was well enough for a long-delayed second operation. In what was termed a "perfectly successful" procedure, Gemelli doctors reconnected segments of the Pontiffs colon, a simple operation that reversed the intestinal bypass surgery performed last May after the attempt on his life. With a reticence typical of reports on the Pope's progress, Vatican spokesmen...