Pope too ill to hold weekly audience

VATICAN CITY, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Vatican officials announced Wednesday Pope John Paul II canceled his weekly general audience outside his apartment due to intestinal problems.

In 1981, he had most of his intestine removed after he was shot in an assassination attempt. In 1992, the pope had a benign tumor removed from his intestines and four years later, he had appendicitis.

The 83-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church arrived back in Italy Sept. 14 after a four-day trip to Slovakia, where he appeared very frail and short of breath.

He is at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, just outside of Rome, where he plans to finish off his vacation until the end of the month.

The Vatican emphasized the cancellation was purely a precautionary measure, and the rest of his working schedule remains intact, including a busy October.

On Oct. 16, the pope celebrates the 25th anniversary of his pontificate, then three days later he will celebrate a three-hour Mass for the beatification of St. Teresa of Calcutta.