NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II is enjoying a restful break from his usual duties, and quickly recovering his energy during his vacation in the Dolomite Mountains, Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters today.

      While jealously guarding the privacy of the papal retreat, the Vatican spokesman offered reporters a pair of photos of the Pope's recent excursions. In one shot the Pope is wearing a large hat and a vest over his cassock as he walks through the mountains; in the other he is hatless, standing in the shade and looking out over the mountains from a height of nearly 8,000 feet. In each snapshot, the Pope is using two walking-sticks, almost like ski poles-- one in each hand.

      Navarro-Valls said that the Pope wanted to convey his gratitude to the people of the region, who had helped prepare his vacation and had guarded his privacy with "delicate efficiency and discretion."

      The papal spokesman said that the Holy Father is not working on any special project during the vacation. (His encyclical on faith and reason is already complete, and is now being translated into several different languages, to be ready for publication.) He has brought several dossiers of work, Navarro-Valls said, and consults them from time to time. He added that the Pope is also reading a work of modern philosophy, which he declined to identify.

      A Vatican spokesman said Pope John Paul II has been saddened by the news of the firebombing that killed three boys in Northern Ireland this past weekend, and is "concerned about the future of the peace process," according to his press spokesman.

      Briefing reporters at Lorenzago di Cadore, where the Pope is spending a two-week vacation, Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that the Holy Father has been following the latest developments in Northern Ireland with keen interest and concern, and offering his prayers for the cause of peace.