VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II will join in Sunday's Angelus prayers from his hospital room but will not read them out or greet the faithful from a window, the Vatican said Saturday as the pope recovered from a throat operation to ease a breathing crisis.

Vatican officials confirmed there were no plans for the 84-year-old pontiff to make a brief appearance at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital during Sunday's blessing, a weekly tradition dear to the pope.

Doctors have advised the pope not to speak for several days as he recovers from Thursday's surgery to insert a breathing tube in his throat.

The Holy See's terse announcement came after officials met to decide if John Paul was well enough to make some written statement or gesture aimed at reassuring the world his recovery is progressing after his second breathing crisis in less than a month. But with the pope in a delicate state, the Vatican said its undersecretary of state would read the prayers to the faithful assembled in St. Peter's Square.

The Vatican took pains Friday to emphasize the positive: The pope was breathing on his own, showed no signs of pneumonia and ate a breakfast that included coffee with milk, yogurt and 10 small cookies.

But there were other descriptions impossible to ignore: the pope fitted with a tube to ease his breathing and following doctors' orders to avoid speaking for several days.

Each detail of John Paul's condition was shadowed by uncertainty, including how long the tracheotomy device would remain and if the pope would eventually regain full command of his voice. No official health update on the pope is expected until Monday.

In some patients the throat passage is left permanently, requiring significant changes in speech. Some patients learn to talk through the tube. Another option is to briefly plug it - akin to holding your breath - and speak in short bursts. Any such development would be complicated by the pope's battle with Parkinson's disease, which causes hand tremors and difficulties in coordination and muscle control.

For the moment, the pope's only means of expression is the written word.

The image drove home a clear worry at the Vatican, that the pope's ailments to gradually reduce his abilities to communicate and reach out to followers - a hallmark of his 28-year papacy that's included 104 international trips and several best-selling papal books.

T

he latest health troubles will likely amplify debate among the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics on possible papal resignation - which is something the pope has rejected as he draws comparisons between his suffering and essential elements of Christian faith, such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this month, however, the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, declined to rule out the possibility of resignation and said it was "up to the pope's conscience."

This could become a crucial point, some theologians and Vatican observers say. The pope's concern for the church could eventually come in conflict with his diminished abilities.

"Modern medicine can keep someone alive long after they can really function in this world. At the same time, the papacy has grown in importance," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit weekly America and author of a book on Vatican practices.

"Right now, he says he won't resign. But, on the other hand, if a doctor tells him, `You are going to be bedridden for the next five years and we can keep you alive but not really anything more,' then the pope could reach another decision."