Senior Roman Catholic Church officials have urged the Pope, John Paul II to cut back on his workload, amid further indications that he is too old and frail to make a full recovery to handle his full agenda.

John Paul II missed the Angelus prayers for the first time in his role as Pope on Sunday 27 February, as his illness continues to hinder his influence on the worldwide Catholic community. The Pope's absence meant that John Paul's Sunday Angelus blessing was given by an aide.

In a message read by an aide, the Pope asked the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics to think of him in their prayers as he recuperates from surgery. The pontiff also managed to wave to well-wishers from his hospital window.

"I ask you to continue to follow me with your prayers," the 84-year-old pope said in a text read by Archbishop Sandri Sostituto during the traditional Sunday blessing at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City.

On Thursday doctors had to perform an operation on the Pope in which a tube was inserted into his throat to ease breathing difficulties. To speed recovery after the operation, doctors have advised for the Pope not to talk, which has left writing as the Pope’s only means of communication for the time being.

Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, who is a well-known expert in canon law, has reported that he believes the Pope should delegate more power to others for the management of the Church. He said, "I would see nothing wrong with certain bodies, which already exist, being used in a greater fashion to lighten the Pope’s burden in the universal government of the Church."

In particular Pompedda commented that greater responsibilities could be designated to the assemblies of Cardinals and to the heads of the Vatican congregation among other departments.

Although the Pope has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of resigning, many other critics have suggested that he is now too frail to continue the running of this vital Christian denomination. Continued health problems, including Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and the effects of repeated surgery have only gone on to encourage his critics in condemning his physical abilities to lead the millions of Catholics worldwide.

Sources from the Vatican have stated that even before the Pope was admitted to hospital at the beginning of February, he could still only write a sentence or two due to his weakness. Another cardinal secretly reported that the Pope could only work three hours a day due to his deteriorating condition.

Currently, the Roman Catholic Church is effectively being run by the Catholic secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and the Pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.

Professor Corrado Manni, who treated the Pope between 1981 and 1996 has predicted that it could be weeks or even months before the tracheotomy tube would be able to be extracted form his throat. In addition, doctors have worryingly reported that they expect the Pope to lose the ability to speak in public within the next 6 months to three years.

John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter said, "The Church says he is teaching the world a lesson by bearing his suffering with dignity."