Pope Hospitalized With Breathing Problems

The Vatican has said that the Pope was rushed to a hospital on Tuesday night as he had difficulty breathing, due to inflammation of the throat and the flu. AP reports (via Yahoo! News):

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told The Associated Press that the decision to hospitalize the 84-year-old pontiff was "mainly a precaution."

He pointed out that the pope was not in intensive care but in the same 10th floor suite of rooms where he has been during several previous stays at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, about 2 1/2 miles from the Vatican.

The pope has the flu and acute laryngeal tracheitis, Navarro-Valls said, acknowledging the pontiff had a "certain difficulty in breathing."

Read more: Pope Hospitalized With Breathing Problems

Pope Blog readers, I won't do this often, but I will ask for your prayers at this time. According to the article, more tests will be done and the Vatican will issue a medical report sometime after 3 a.m. EST Wednesday.