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Pope to meet Betancourt as soon as possible

VATICAN CITY
Fri Jul 4, 2008 2:26pm EDT

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will receive former Colombian rebel hostage Ingrid Betancourt as soon as his schedule allows, Vatican sources said on Friday, without setting a date for the meeting.

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The pontiff had repeatedly called for the release of kidnapped Colombians like Betancourt, a devout Catholic who made a wooden rosary bead set in the jungle that she used to pray with each day as a hostage.

He sent the French-Colombian politician a telegram following the surprise military operation that freed her on Wednesday after more than six years in captivity.

Before leaving Colombia for Paris, Betancourt had said she expected to meet the pope next week. Any meeting before the pontiff flies to Australia on July 12 would be an exception to his schedule, which had ruled out such audiences.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, editing by Ralph Boulton)
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