MANILA, Philippines - Pope John Paul II has canceled plans for a visit to the Philippines in January for an unspecified reason, a church official said Monday.
The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Sodano, has informed Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin about "the sad news," said Sin's spokesman, Monsignor Socrates Villages.
The pope was considering a trip to attend the World Meeting of Families, an international religious conference focusing on family values and held every three years. The 2003 session will be held in Manila on Jan. 22-26, the first time that Asia has hosted the event.
While Vatican officials said the pope had wanted to participate, the Vatican never confirmed the trip, and over the weekend John Paul named Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Vatican's office on the family, as his envoy for the meeting.
A Vatican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Sodano had written Sin to say the pope was not going to Manila.
The official, however, said the cancelation of the Manila trip did not mean the pope would stop his foreign travels, adding a trip to Croatia was being planned for next spring.
Despite concerns that the 82-year-old pontiff would not be able to make it because of health problems, Philippine church officials already had begun preparations by holding prayer rallies and meetings with security officials.
During the pope's 1995 Manila visit, Philippine security officials foiled a plot by a group of foreign Muslim extremists to assassinate him.
Some 5 million Filipinos welcomed the pope in 1995 — one of the largest welcomes ever for a visiting pope.