London--(AP) A British charity hotline which features the pope reciting prayers drew just only six calls in two months, the man who set it up said Tuesday. Businessman Aidan O'Neill said he was "appalled and shocked" after the $2.13-a-minute premium line drew a miserable response despite extensive advertising in the Catholic press.

Listeners could call the line for up to six minutes to hear Pope John Paul II praying in St. Peter's Square in Rome in Latin - with the proceeds going to leprosy victims in Yinnan Province, China. "We cleared the use of messages with the Vatican and set up this hotline only to be shocked by the lack of activity," O'Neill said. "We thought U.K.-based Catholics would welcome an opportunity to join the pope in prayer on the telephone at any time without the need to go to Rome.

A spokeswoman for the Catholic Church declined to comment.