Pope John Paul II got up from his hospital bed again today, and Italy's health minister assured the faithful they no longer had any reason to fear for the pontiff's health following surgery to remove a colon tumor.
Doctors said the 72-year-old pontiff was making an excellent recovery from the nearly four-hour operation Wednesday, and no further medical bulletins were scheduled until Saturday.John Paul's temperature returned to normal this morning following a slight fever Thursday afternoon, which was to be expected after such major surgery, said the pope's cardiologist, Dr. Attilio Maseri.
Doctors said the pope got out of bed and took a few steps.
Two initial biopsies indicated the orange-sized tumor was benign, and pathologists were conducting further tests for signs of any cancer cells.
On Thursday, Navarro defended the pope's medical care against suggestions that the colon tumor should have been detected earlier.