PARIS (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II is suffering from a progressive paralysis, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris told Le Journal Du Dimanche magazine this week.

    In an interview, Cardinal Lustiger said: "We know that his illness is causing progressive paralysis of the body but his mind remains intact. This man, who was an athlete, is becoming more and more a prisoner in his body."

    The archbishop said the Pope "retains a spiritual strength, an intellectual capacity and a memory, which are extraordinary for someone who will be 80 next month."

    The Holy Father has had a variety of apparent medical problems during his pontificate, beginning with an assassination attempt in 1981, hip surgery after a fall six years ago, and hand and head tremors associated with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder.