English prelate to have first meeting with Pope

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, began a visit to Rome yesterday in which he was due to meet Pope John Paul II for the first time.

Dr Williams's visit comes in a week when two leading Catholic prelates have spoken of the 83-year-old Pontiff's failing health.

Yesterday, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said the Pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was nearing "the last days and months of his life".