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Christian Century, Feb 8, 2003

* Pope John Paul II will continue his travels this year despite failing health and will reach the milestone of 100 trips outside Italy. But his visits will be relatively brief and only to European countries, the Vatican said on January 14. The 82-year-old pontiff is scheduled to visit Spain May 3-4, Croatia June 5-8, Bosnia June 22 and Slovakia September 11-14.

He may also return to France to speak at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in late autumn. Vatican sources have said that the pope's doctors advised him against making tiring intercontinental trips lasting a week or more. John Paul suffers from a debilitating neurological condition believed to be Parkinson's disease, along with arthritis.