VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- According to an Italian newspaper report, when Pope John Paul II departs Rome on February 24 for his trip to Egypt, he will leave behind instructions to be followed in case he is involved in an accident.

    The daily Il Corriere della Sera reports that the Pontiff will leave his instructions with Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, the dean of the College of Cardinals. The instructions involve episcopal nominations and other bits of unresolved business, the paper claims.

    The short report in Il Corriere della Sera is unsigned and unconfirmed. However, the paper reports that it is "habitual" for the Pope to leave such instructions before embarking on any foreign travel.