Pope brushes aside illness fears
A frail but determined Pope John Paul led his general audience today and, brushing aside any suggestions he is cutting back, announced that, “God willing,” he will travel to a shrine in Pompeii next week.
Following alarm over a cardinal’s remarks that the pope was in “bad” shape, another top prelate insisted the 83-year-old pontiff, who has Parkinson’s disease, has no intention of stepping down, as did an Italian author who helped the pontiff write a best-selling book.
