Pope John Paul II, showing increasing signs of ill health, may announce his retirement in August during a visit to his native Krakow in Poland, Polish church sources are quoted as saying.
The prospect was considered a near-hundred per cent certainty by Polish churchmen with close links to the 82-year-old pontiff, the Czech newspaper Tydensaid.
His retirement "would be received favourably by liberal and conservative circles in the church," the report said.
Last month, both German Cardinal Josef Ratzinger and Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras raised the possibility of the Pope's retirement.
Polish church circles were quoted as saying he might retire to a monastery in Poland. The pope was previously archbishop of Krakow.
In Rome today, Pope John Paul showed further signs of frailty when he was obliged to meet Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga in his private quarters rather than at the Vatican's customary reception hall.
Doctors have advised the pontiff, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and debilitating arthritis, to avoid excessive movement.
AFP