Pope quells death rumours

The Pope read prayers during the two-hour service

Pope John Paul II has been celebrating mass on the steps of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, looking well and alert - in contrast to reports last week that he was near to death.

Although hampered by the effects of Parkinson's disease, the Pontiff was able to lead the congregation in a canonisation service that is part of a month of events marking his 25th year as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The BBC's Rome correspondent David Willey says that recent reports of the Pope's imminent demise, notably from two of the Vatican's own cardinals last week, have been premature - and that while the 83-year-old is frail he is determined to go on.

His mind is very clear and therefore I would have thought no need for immediate alarm at all Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor

The Pope feels he sends a message to the world about old or sick people, demonstrating that they still have value and should not be swept aside, our correspondent adds.

Although the Pope is suffering from a progressive degenerative disease, which is taking its toll, our correspondent says he should not be underestimated and could continue his work for months or even years.

Record breaker

The BBC's Robert Piggott, also in Rome, says that the fact that the Pope has been allowed to preside over a two-hour mass must illustrate a degree of confidence from his doctors.

There were joyous scenes as the new saints were canonised

During the mass, Pope John Paul II created three more saints at his 50th canonisation service - bringing the total he has declared during his papacy to 476 - more than all those canonised by previous incumbents of the papacy put together.

The three were 19th century missionaries from Italy, Germany and Austria, who were instrumental in the spread of Roman Catholic evangelical work in Africa and China.

Young African dancers, both men and women, from Sudan dressed in animal skins, sang and danced before the open-air altar to commemorate one of the new saints, an Italian priest who worked as a missionary in Africa.

Lengthy papacy

The Pope had a meeting in Rome the previous day with the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who rejected the notion that the pontiff's death was necessarily near.

"I think it's quite clear that the Pope is frail. But every day he's there, every day everyone can see him... His mind is very clear and therefore I would have thought no need for immediate alarm at all," he said.

The mood inside the Vatican is said to be one of thanks that the Pope has been afforded such a long papacy, one of the longest ever.

Grip on issues

The Pope also showed on Saturday he still has a firm grip on the controversial issues of the day when he warned the new Archbishop of Canterbury - the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion - that "new and serious difficulties have arisen" in relations between the two churches.

The Anglican leader was admonished about the acceptance of gay clergy

In what correspondents say was an indirect reference to homosexual clergy, the Pope told Archbishop Rowan Williams that Christians had to be protected from he called erroneous and misguided interpretations of the faith.

"These difficulties are not all of a merely disciplinary nature; some extend to essential matters of faith and morals," Pope John Paul II said.

There was however some progress on another stumbling block in Catholic-Anglican relations - in a prepared statement Dr Williams said he would respond to the Pope's invitation for suggestions about the future of Papal primacy.

The 15-minute private audience was the first time the two men had met.

The heads of the Catholic and Anglican Churches first met face-to-face in 1960, and this has since become a regular event.