NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II will leave Rome this afternoon, to begin his vacation in Lorenzago di Cadore.

      Traveling first by plane to Istrana and then by helicopter, the Pope will reach the small chalet in the Dolomite Mountains where he will spend two weeks in rest and reflection, in a break from his usual schedule that the Vatican has underlined will be a "strictly private" interlude.

      In the town of Lorenzago, however, residents have decked out their homes in the yellow-and-white colors of the Vatican, in anticipation of the Holy Father's arrival.

      The chalet where the Pope will stay is located in a wooded area, with pine trees broken by occasional fields of wild flowers. The Pope's private chapel and his room-- which features a balcony overlooking the mountains-- are located on the second floor of the chalet.

      During his stay there the Pope will rise at 6 in the morning for Mass, and follow breakfast with several hours of reading in his room or-- weather permitting-- the chalet's small garden. In the afternoons he will take some walks in the mountains (Camillo Cibin, the chief of security for the Pope, has prepared several hiking routes, with the help of local forest guides), and evenings will see another period of reading after a simple dinner.

      The Pope's only public appearances during the next two weeks will be for the Sunday Angelus on July 12, from the window of the chalet, and on July 19, when he will visit the town of Val Camonica.