wfn.org | Pope John Paul II continues ministry of reconciliation

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-109

Pope John Paul II continues ministry of reconciliation with trips to Greece and 
Syria

by James Solheim
jsolheim@episcopalchurch.org

     (ENS) In the twilight of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II has extended his 
ministry of reconciliation with trips to Greece and Syria, bringing a message of 
peace to Orthodox cousins and to a troubled Middle East.

     On May 4, he made the first visit to Greece by a pope in 1291 years, trying 
to defuse hostilities that have been simmering since the East-West split in the 
Christian Church. In Athens he asked God to forgive Roman Catholics for sins 
committed against Orthodox believers over the past millennium.

     The visit came at the invitation of Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos 
not the church. When he arrived May 4 at the Athens airport he was welcomed by 
government officials and bishops from the country's Roman Catholic minority--but 
no major Orthodox church leaders.

     In a private meeting with Archbishop Christodoulos, the Greek primate said 
that the visit "brings us joy," but it was a joy "overshadowed by the fact of our 
division." He then listed some of the religious differences, citing especially 
the sacking of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, by the Crusaders 
in 1204 and the Vatican's failure to condemn the partition of the island of 
Cyprus following the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Orthodox are also unhappy with 
Eastern Catholic churches that celebrate the Orthodox liturgy but are linked to 
Rome, regarding them as incursions.

     "For the occasions pat and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic 
Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and 
sisters, may the Lord grant us forgiveness," said the statement.

     Later the pope and archbishop met at a spot where St. Paul had preached to 
sign a "common declaration," agreeing to "do everything in our power, so that the 
Christian roots of Europe and its Christian soul may be preserved." They also 
condemned "all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism, in the name of 
religion."

A taste of tension

     The pope received a first-hand taste of that fanaticism when he arrived in 
Damascus where he endured a tirade from President Bashar al-Assad accusing Israel 
of torturing and murdering Palestinians and suggesting that Christians and 
Muslims make common cause against those "who try to kill the principles of all 
religions with the same mentality with which they betrayed Jesus Christ…. In the 
same way they tried to commit treachery against Prophet Muhammad."

     On the other hand, the pope stressed religious tolerance and understanding, 
pointing out that "so often hopes for peace have been raised only to be dashed by 
new waves of violence."

     In a speech to dozens of Syrian Christian and Islamic leaders he said, "For 
all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to 
seek forgiveness." He expressed his hopes that "our two great religious 
communities" would engage "in respectful dialogue, never more as communities in 
conflict."

     John Paul became the first pope to visit a mosque, the great Umayyad Mosque 
in Damascus, accompanied by the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmed Kuftaro. The huge 
mosque was originally a pagan temple converted to a Christian church in the 
fourth century, replaced by a mosque after the Arabs conquered Damascus in 639. 
The pope offered a silent prayer at what is revered as the tomb of St. John the 
Baptist.

Building a legacy

     Commenting on the pope's two stops, the Times of London said, "Both form 
part of what is emerging as the 80-year-old pope's final goal in the twilight of 
his long papacy: to heal the divisions within Christianity through his drive for 
ecumenism, and simultaneously to achieve reconciliation between the world's three 
main monotheistic religions." In 1986 he was the first pontiff to visit a 
synagogue.

     Other press accounts, however, pointed to the stiff opposition by many 
Orthodox and also many Muslims to the pope's visit. "History teaches us that 
Western pilgrimages have covert political motives," said a leading Sunni Muslim 
leader who helped block a joint Christian-Muslim prayer in the mosque.

     On his way back to Rome, the pope stopped at Malta, where he was warmly 
embraced by the island's overwhelming Roman Catholic population.

--James Solheim is director of the Office of News and Information for the 
Episcopal Church.