PILGRIMAGE TO THE EAST

By GREG BURKE WITH THE POPE

For years, journalists who cover Pope John Paul II have referred to him privately as ``the old man.'' Last week, in the midst of his 11-day tour of Asia and the Pacific, the 74-year-old Pontiff accepted that description--if a bit reluctantly. In Manila for World Youth Day, he replied to youngsters who were shouting, ``Lolek! Lolek!,'' his nickname as a boy. ``Lolek was a child,'' he told them. ``John Paul is an old man.''

Old and slightly stooped, in fact, but strong enough to give 30 talks during a 33,000-km tour that touched the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Sri Lanka. The Pontiff has still not fully recovered from last April's surgery for a broken leg: he walks with a cane and his left arm shakes almost constantly. But his actor's sense of timing and improvisation remain intact, and on several occasions he spoke without notes--a sign he was in good spirits. At one point in Manila, after a lengthy departure from his prepared speech, the Pope announced slowly, with mock solemnity, ``And now, returning to the text,'' as if he were just coming back from a television commercial break.

John Paul was at his best, as usual, before big crowds, twirling his cane like a baton and tapping his crozier on the ground to the beat of the music. No assembly was bigger than the one in Manila, where an estimated 3 million to 4 million people attended Mass in Luneta Park. The scene was so chaotic that the Pope had to change plans and arrived by helicopter, an hour and a half late. A smaller but more colorful turnout welcomed him in Papua New Guinea, where he presided over the beatification--a prelude to sainthood--of lay catechist Peter To Rot, who was killed by occupying Japanese troops during World War II. Bare-chested greeters wearing grass skirts and tall headdresses danced and sang for the Pope on his arrival.

Aside from a talk to the Philippines' bishops, who have been engaged in a running battle with the government over population control, John Paul avoided raising the subject of sexual morality. He touched only briefly on the question of women, who are still barred from the priesthood: before the beatification ceremony for Mary MacKillop, a pioneering 19th century social worker, he said the church ``faces the challenge of finding fresh and creative ways of recognizing and integrating the specific charisms of women.'' Bantering with reporters toward the beginning of the trip, the Pope was asked how he felt about having been named Man of the Year. ``That was last year,'' John Paul said quickly, and with a sweep of his arm indicated it was time to move on.