VATICAN CITY (AFP)
Pope Benedict XVI took a helicopter to his summer residence
outside Rome on Tuesday for a long holiday after a tough year
marked by the scandal over leaks of confidential papers from the
Vatican.
The 85-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church will hold
general audiences on Wednesdays from August 1 until September in
Castel Gandolfo, following a break in July.
There will be some official duties for the pope this month,
including meeting with a group of cardinals who have been
investigating the leaks.
On July 11, he will also attend a concert given by the
Israeli-Argentine maestro Daniel Barenboim with his Arab-Israeli
orchestra, the West-East Divan Orchestra, which will perform one
of his favourite composers Beethoven.
He will also celebrate mass in the nearby town of Frascati in
mid-July.
The pope has used previous summer holidays in the ancient palace
on a hillside overlooking Albano Lake to work on his biography of
Jesus Christ.
The pope has a busy programme in September and October, including
a diplomatically sensitive trip to Lebanon on September 14-16.
In October, he will also launch the Year of Faith on the 50th
anniversary of the Vatican II Council.
