NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II received Ireland's President Mary McAleese at the Vatican on Friday. Their discussion centered on the peace process in Northern Ireland, and relations between the Catholic Church and the Protestant community there.

      Asked by the Irish president whether he had recovered from the flu that forced him to cancel appointments last week, the Holy Father responded that he was feeling well.

      That public discussion of the Pope's health-- which was conducted in English, while journalists were present-- carried a certain irony. During the previous night, a rumor had circulated in Rome that the Pope was dead. The Vatican Press Office had responded quickly to squelch the rumor.