A Hearty Meal and Silent Jokes as the Pope Defies Obituarists

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Byline: By MIKE GIBSON

The pope confounded those who had his obituary ready to roll yesterday when he ate a hearty breakfast and silently joked with aides only hours after undergoing surgery to ease another breathing crisis. John Paul is breathing on his own and is not suffering from pneumonia, the Vatican said, taking pains to cast his condition in a positive light.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the frail 84-year-old spent a restful night at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors advised him not to speak for a few days.

He was rushed back to hospital on Wednesday night less than two weeks after being released following treatment for flu and …