Frail Pope defies sceptics in shrine visit before 30,000 pilgrims

DEFYING sceptics who thought the ailing pontiff's travel days were finished, Pope John Paul II flew to a shrine yesterday near the ruins of ancient Pompeii and prayed for world peace.

Only last month, the 83-year-old pontiff, stooped and slowed by Parkinson's disease and other health problems, struggled through a four-day pilgrimage to Slovakia, and a cardinal last week said John Paul was approaching his dying days.

John Paul's voice was often halting, and he slurred his words as he read opening prayers for peace. He skipped portions of his speech, but he looked alert and happy to be back in Pompeii after 24 years.