Vatican sources are no longer ruling out a visit to Ireland by Pope John Paul II. Patsy McGarry and Paddy Agnew report.
Last week Vatican sources were unequivocally dismissive when told that the Irish bishops intended inviting him to Ireland, this time to mark the 25th anniversary of his previous visit in 1979.
Last night the Vatican sources were less sure and speculated that Pope John Paul may yet accept the invitation, possibly this autumn or next spring.
Cardinal Desmond Connell, the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Seán Brady, and the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, were in Rome this week when the formal invitation to visit Ireland was delivered to the Pope.
Vatican sources point out that Pope John Paul himself has on more than one occasion spoken of his desire to "complete" his 1979 visit by travelling to Northern Ireland. For security reasons, he did not do so in 1979.
Then, he celebrated Mass at Drogheda, in the diocese of Armagh, where he called on paramilitaries to lay down their arms.
The Pope is due to travel to Mexico in September to attend a Eucharistic Congress and preside at a canonisation there. It is speculated that his advisers may decide the Mexican trip could prove too arduous. In which case, it is also speculated, a trip to Ireland could prove a less stressful alternative.
Currently the Pope's only travel plans are a visit to Lourdes next month, with the trip to Mexico a possibility in September. A trip to Poland is being considered for next June, and one to Cologne in August 2005 for the Catholic World Youth Day. All depended on his health.
He is now de facto wheelchair-bound and, when travelling, his main difficulty is getting in and out of cars or on and off an aircraft. That such exertions prove very taxing for him was clear on the Pope's last lengthy visit outside Italy - to Slovakia in September last year.
Confirmation of the trip will most probably be delayed until the last minute so that fluctuations in health can be monitored and thus avoid a late, potentially embarrassing, cancellation.