After being hospitalised for ten days and having returned to the Vatican last Friday, Pope John Paul II took to the pulpit and blessed a packed crowd of worshippers on Sunday from his studio in St. Peter's Square.

Most of the message was delivered with the assistance of a bishop, who read his messages to the people. "We meet again in this place to praise the Lord," he said. At the end of the message, the pope said clearly: "Happy Sunday to everybody. Thank you."

Thousands had gathered to see the Pope's traditional Sunday appearance at St. Peter's and catch a glimpse of his public appearance after his return, which coincides with his weeklong spiritual retreat - during which all audience will be suspended.

However, despite the Pope's Sunday appearance, a number of leading Catholics are continuing to call for the ailing Pope to resign.

The Pope's weakening condition has caused a split among Catholics in Britain. Many prominent leaders are calling for John Paul II to resign, while traditionalists insist that the Pope's visible suffering is "God's Will" and that resignation will lead the church into confusion.

"A lot of people think the church is treading water while he is still there," said Edward Stourton, the Catholic presenter of BBC Radio4's Today programme.

As his health continues to deteriorate due to sufferings from Parkinson's disease, there have been serious doubts about the Pope's intellectual functioning and many questions of his ability to lead a church of 1.1 billion.

However, the Pope's suffering has been described as "a form of crucifixion" by Peter Stanford, a Catholic author. "Yet again the Catholic Church is flying in the face of science," he said.

Many say it is not a good time for the leader of the church to step down for it could impose a message of failure. Daily Telegraph's former editor says it could even worsen the position of the next Pope, as the retired pontiff would make life hard for his successor.

No Pope has resigned for centuries and John Paul has conveyed that he intends to carry out his mission until the very end. "I always need your help before the Lord, for carrying out my mission that Jesus entrusted to me," the bishop read on the Pope’s behalf on Sunday.

The Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, sought to repeal all rumours of the Pope's resignation with the headline: "The rudder is still in his hands."