Frail Pope may rule out foreign tours

Pope John Paul II has ended his 96th foreign tour with the Vatican suggesting he may not make many more.

Later this week, the ailing pontiff meets with US president George Bush.

A Vatican spokesman said there was an open agenda for tomorrow's meeting with Bush at the Vatican, although he suggested the Middle East and problems of the Catholic Church in Russia may be discussed.

US administration officials say Mr Bush will not bring up the sex abuse scandal currently dogging the American church.

When President Bush met John Paul last July at the Pope's summer residence, the top issue was stem cell research, with the Pope urging Bush to reject research on human embryos.

The following month, Bush announced support for government funding for limited medical research on existing lines of embryonic cells.