John Paul, Hemmed In at Twilight of His Papacy

Alessandra Stanley repored in The New York Times, May 26, 2002, on the Pope's visit to Eastern Europe.

The pope, who had to be persuaded by American cardinals to hold a summit meeting on child abuse in the church last month, has not commented on this week's revelations about Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee, who resigned after acknowledging he had paid $450,000 to settle a claim that he sexually assaulted a man two decades ago.

For now, at least, Vatican aides traveling with the pope understandably want to keep the latest American scandal from diverting attention from the papal journey. But in doing so they have a way of painting the pope as a passive observer. Asked if the pope was informed of the charges against Bishop Weakland, the Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, replied, ''He reads the newspapers.''