More from from Rome and beyond

• BUSH PRAYING | 1:03 p.m. ET

Press secretary Scott McClellan says that the White House is in close contact with the Vatican about the pope's failing health and that President Bush is praying for him. Chief of staff Andrew Card is keeping Bush up to date on the pope's condition.

"The president and Mrs. Bush join people all across the world who are praying for the Holy Father. He's in our thoughts and prayers," McClellan tells reporters.

"The outpouring of love across the world is a testimony to the greatness of the pope. The pope is an inspiration to millions of Americans and people all over the world for his great moral leadership," McClellan says.

• POPE UNCONSCIOUS? | 12:46 p.m. ET

Italy's APCom news agency, without citing sources, is reporting that the pope is unconscious. Vatican officials are not immediately available for comment. Earlier, the Vatican had denied another report by the same agency that claimed the pontiff had slipped into a coma.

• POPE OPENED EYES EARLIER | 12:23 p.m. ET

Among the top church officials gathering at the pope's bedside is Cardinal Marcio Francesco Pompedda, a high-ranking Vatican administrator, who says the pope opened his eyes and smiled.

"I understood he recognized me. It was a wonderful smile — I'll remember it forever. It was a benevolent smile, a father-like smile," Pompedda tells RAI television. "I also noticed that he
wanted to tell me something but he could not. ... But what impressed me very much was his expression of serenity."

• HOPE FADING? | 12:21 p.m. ET

Ansa News Agency is reporting that medical sources are saying there is no more hope for the pope.

• BUSH IN WHITE HOUSE | 12:09 p.m. ET

NBC News White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell reports that President Bush is in the Oval Office monitoring the situation with his senior staff.

• MEDICAL UPDATE | 12:04 p.m. ET

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls releases the following medical bulletin:

"The general conditions and cardiocirculatory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened. A gradual worsening of arterial hypotension has been noted and breathing has become shallow. The clinical picture indicates cardiocirculatory and renal insufficiency.

"The biological parameters are notably compromised. The Holy Father — with visible participation — is joining in the continual prayers of those assisting him."

• 'SHALLOW' BREATHING | 11:59 a.m. ET

The Vatican issues a statement saying the pope's condition has worsened. His breathing "has become shallow" and his kidney function is deteriorating.

• 'VERY GRAVE' | 11:30 a.m. ET

"Yesterday afternoon ... following a urinary infection, a state of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse set in," a Vatican statement says. "This morning, the Holy Father's health condition is very grave."

• PRAYING FOR THE POPE | 11:15 a.m. ET

Hundreds of anxious faithful gather outside St. Peter's Basilica in silent prayer as news spreads that the pope's health has abruptly deteriorated. Poles stream into churches to pray for the pope, their revered countryman who appears on the threshold of death. Millions of Roman Catholics in Asia pack churches and hold vigils.

• CONSCIOUS AND STABLE | 11:00 a.m. ET

Pope John Paul II is conscious and his condition is stable, but his blood pressure is unstable and he continues to have breathing problems.

The Vatican dismisses as "rubbish" Italian media reports that the pope has slipped into a coma.

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