No Cyprus Visit on Pope's May Trip

VATICAN, Apr. 3, 2001 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II will not visit Cyprus in May, despite invitations from authorities there, the Holy See has announced. The Pontiff hopes to visit the island, where St. Paul preached, at some future date.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters that arrangements for a stop in Cyprus had proved "technically impossible." There had been some speculation that the Pope would include Cyprus on his itinerary for the May trip that will take him to Greece and Syria, in the footsteps of St. Paul.

Still, Navarro-Valls said, "John Paul II hopes that he can make the visit some day."

In his letter explaining his Jubilee pilgrimage to the sites connected with the history of salvation, promulgated in June 1999, Pope John Paul had listed a number of places he hoped to visit. Athens and Damascus-cities that are on his schedule for the May trip-were on that list. Also listed were Egypt, the Holy Land, and Iraq. The Pope visited Egypt in February 2000, and the Holy Land in March; his plans for a visit to Iraq, to the home of the patriarch Abraham, have thus far been thwarted because of political complications.

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update
3. april 2001