President Hinckley now home

President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was discharged from the hospital Tuesday, according to a church spokesman.

"Doctors are very pleased with President Hinckley's progress and have discharged him from the hospital. He is home now and continues to rest comfortably," spokesman Dale Bills said. "We expect he will be able to resume his normal schedule soon."

President Hinckley, 95, was hospitalized a week ago and underwent surgery Jan. 24 to remove a cancerous growth in his large intestine.

Bills said earlier the diseased portion of the intestine, found through routine medical screening, "was successfully removed through a laparoscopic procedure." The church has not released any details about what, if any, additional treatment he might need.

President Hinckley received a pacemaker for his heart in 2001, and last June, on his 95th birthday, he acknowledged that he suffers from diabetes.

President Hinckley's last church-wide public appearance came during the bicentennial birthday celebration for LDS Church founder Joseph Smith on Dec. 23, when he spoke via satellite from Sharon, Vt., to Latter-day Saints gathered in thousands of locations worldwide.

He has led the 12 million-member LDS Church since being set apart as church president on March 12, 1995, after serving 14 years in the First Presidency and 20 years in the faith's Council of the Twelve.