Pope blesses large audience at Damascus mass

Syria-Vatican, Politics, 5/7/2001

A large mass was held in Damascus at the Abbasid's stadium. It was headed by Pope John Paul on Sunday morning. On behalf of the Syrian President, the mass was attended by the minister of higher education Hassan Risheh Upon his arrival at the Stadium the Holy See toured the playground greeting tens of thousands of people crowded in it.

The Pope made a sermon calling upon all to continue exerting efforts with a view to building a fraternal and consolidated society capable of protecting the dignity of mankind and of restoring legitimate rights so that all live in peace and complete understanding. His holiness addressed the Christians by saying:" The Church depend on you in giving your children the faith you inherited and in remaining united and open to all and in defending the principles of right and justice." He extended gratitude to all Muslims who wanted to join to their Christian brethren in this occasion which coincides with the Martyrs day who offered their blessed souls in defense of the HOME. He also thanked President Bashar al-Assad's representative for attending the ceremony He was cordially greeted by a wave of applause by the audience, Muslims and Christians, who carried welcome posters and the national flags of Syria and the Vatican He accepted a number of gifts referring to Syria. While some bands were reciting religious anthems, the Pope distributed the sacred communion to all participants in the mass. He, later extended deep thanks to all, wishing them good health and all success.

Pope visits the Umayyad Mosque

Syria-Vatican, Politics, 5/7/2001

His holiness John Paul II and members of the accompanying delegation on Sunday visited the Grand Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. He was accompanied by senior Christian clergy from Syria and other Arab countries.

At the entrance of the mosque, the Pope was welcomed by the Syrian minister of al-Awqaf ( Islamic Trust) Muhammad Zeyadah, the Republic Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kiftaro and foreign ambassadors accredited in Damascus. Following a short rest during which the Pope and Kiftaro exchanged presents, the pontiff toured the Mosque and was briefed on its historic, religious and civilization importance throughout ages. The Pope stopped at the tomb of John the Baptist and performed a silent prayer.

Later the Syrian Awqaf minister made a speech welcoming Syria's most honored guest in the land of history and great civilization, stressing that the divine heavenly religions derive sublime teachings from one source that is God, and expressing the hope that all are urged to work for maintaining the noble principles of right, justice and equality for strengthening spiritual values and spreading the banners of peace and security world-wide. His holiness the Pope also visited the Patriarchy of Antoich and All the East for the Syriac Orthodox. He was welcomed by Patriarch Mar Agnatius Zaka I Iwaz of Antioch and the All East for the Syriac Orthodox church and other clergy. Patriarch Iwaz welcomed the Pontiff, stressing the historical importance of his visit to Syria in his cathedral. The Pope for his part expressed happiness for coming to Syria as a pilgrim following the steps of Apostle Paul.

Interviews :On the Pope 's visit to Damascus

Syria-Vatican, Politics, 5/7/2001

" the first time I have been in Quneitra was in 1975. I was very impressed by the destruction and the violence made by the Israeli troops against the city ," said German correspondent for " Frankfurter" Germany, Heinz- Joachim Fischer in a statement to Syria Times.

He said it is horrible to see all ruins, the sign of violence in the cemetery of the city, noting that the Syrian officers showed us during our visit to Quneitra heads of the deaths and the golden teeth of the dead were taken. He continued that since that time, 26 years ago, I think the Arab states and Israel must make new experiences and " I think the great lesson of these years is that violence can not be the right answer for the problem for this region, for the solution of the conflict in the Middle East. He added: "In this respect I completely agree with the doctrine of the Pope oftenly repeated, which is the same everywhere that " you have to seek peace and justice and solidarity among people instead of violence, and this doctrine, the Pope has repeated in the years of his Papacy since the 1980 s. I have followed him in all the political crisis, and I will only mention the Falkland (war) between Great Britain and Argentina ."Fischer commented as saying: "I think the Pope is right on the long term.. Violence is not the right way." Violence creates violence. And I think peoples in the Middle East have to do better things than wars, and the Pope said this message in Israel too, and he is waiting for a satisfying answer. Fischer added that the Pope knows that he has no military force and only words, but he is trusting on the force of words like " Good seeds in earth which will bring good fruits, also after long time ," and the Pope gave good example for this peaceful evolution in Eastern Europe. His speeches about the dignity of human person and the self- determination of the people will have realization as it happened in recent history like in Eastern Europe, Latin America, the collapse of Communism and the end of every ideology, which is against human person and the right of the people. Fischer elaborated as saying that in front of the ruins of Qunietra "I remember the words of John Paul II .. This is the result of the culture of death but mankind needs the culture of love and peace, prosperity and development." On the arrangements made by Syria on the visit of the Pope, Fischer said, the organization of the Pope's visit was very satisfactory, and especially "I am impressed by the kindness of people in the streets and the Souks, near the mosque and the tolerance also shown inside the mosque." Replying to another question Fischer said: " I followed the Pope on several visits all over the world and ignorance and arrogance can be found every where. The atmosphere here in Syria, in an Arabic and Islamic country is extremely open minded, and this will be a success for Syria too. It helps to understand the Syrian efforts to build a new society . Fischer concluded as saying:" I am convinced that the Pope's visit will help Syria also under the new President to find a better and more respected place in the world community of the nations."

Marie Czernin, an Austrian who works for the German Die Tagespost daily told Syria times that the visit of the Pope to Quneitra is a very symbolic and important message for peace in the world in general, especially in the Middle East. She said that it is impressive to see the Pope in such a contrast of the destroyed city and ruins of the Church, because usually one would rather see the Pope in beautiful churches. She continued this visit of the Pope to Quneitra is a message for me as a Christian " I believe in resurrection after death, or therefore it is a sign of hope to see a Saintly person like a Pope in a destroyed Church. It is a symbol of suffering and of the Cross, but yet it is a hope of resurrection for the people of Syria and the whole Middle East, because Quneitra should be a place of reconciliation among the people of the Middle East, because geographically it is a very important position between the three countries which are in war ( Syria, Lebanon and Israel) and therefore I do not think it is right that only one country should instrumentalize this place with its message of peace which is for all the neighbor countries. She added this is because " we can only have peace if we are in peace with our neighbor ." She expressed hope that Israel who can now watch the Pope in Syria will remember all the messages gave to the country, which was a message of reconciliation. She continued that the Israelis should remember and recall in their memory what the Pope told them last year, which was not very different from what he says in Syria, since his message is all a message of peace and reconciliation. She said that since the Pope is mainly a spiritual leader, he does not want to get involved in politics. He wants to be fair. He is above the political tension and that if the Pope makes a comment on politics, then it is not to get involved in politics itself but to give a moral lesson to remind the politicians of their moral and ethical responsibilities." She indicated that the Pope does not take a political position for one country against another country, because he is the father figure of every one, and like a just father, loves his son who is sinning, still loves this son like his other children, noting that the Pope recalls the love of our Almighty God, because we are all the children of the God. She added that the visit of the Pope will help Muslims and Christians to be more unified and also to respect each other and by the ultimate end to convey a message of love. The Pope also gave important message to the Christian churches to be more united. On her impressions about Syria, She noted " I came to Syria four days earlier before the pope's visit in order to discover the country because it is my first visit to the Middle East and I was very positively surprised about the friendliness and hospitality of the Syrian people and this kindness of people you feel it sincere and coming from the heart ," noting that this helps to overcome certain prejudice if you do not the country. " She said:" Immediately upon I arrived in damascus, at the bust from the airport I felt welcomed and I was at ease and at HOME. She noted that Syria's history is fascinating, especially the Byzantine art, the origin of Christianity and the Christian art in the old Churches. She added that she has visited Maloula, Sednaya and had a special love for the Orthodox Church, especially the Oriental aspect of Christianity. She regretted that she has not enough time to visit all places and therefor she will come back to discover Syria.

Pope John Paul in Quneitra prays for peace, plants olive tree

Syria-Vatican, Politics, 5/8/2001

Pope John Paul II on Monday in the Syrian liberated city of Quneitra held a large mass to pray for peace in the Middle East region. The mass was attended by high ranking Syrian officials and crowded number of citizens.

In a speech he made, the Pope hailed peace making as sons of the Lord who, from this place ( Quneitra) which was destroyed by the war, call for peace. His holiness said:" I pray for peace in the holy lands and world-wide. Genuine peace is a gift from the God, and our openness to this gift requires faithful guidance of the heart. Engulfed with a deep faith and with a gratefulness to this land in which saint Paul had run declaring the truth of the God and heralding Jesus Christ, we pray for the Lord to make the hearts of all follow reconciliation and create peace."

He also asked the God to extend his hope to help the people in the Middle East to destroy the wall of enmity and wars and to build a world of justice. Following the mass, a girl from the occupied Syrian Golan gave his Holiness a book about Quneitra and expressed happiness with the visit of the Pontiff and told him that her parents told her how happy the life in Quneitra before the brutal Israeli aggression on the city. The Pope also received a latter from the women of Quneitra in which they expressed their hope that his visit would contribute to just and comprehensive peace in the region. They also asked his Holiness to intervene so they can see their relatives in the main land Syria and to end the Israeli occupation that prevent them from joining their families. The Holy See received from the governor of Quneitra presents which included the Shield of Quneitra and two photos of the city before and after the Israeli occupation.

Worthy mentioning is that Quneitra is the capital of the Syrian Golan and it was destroyed not by war activities but by the Israeli forces few days prior to their pullout from it. The Israeli forces, systematically, intentionally and brutally, used bulldozers and explosives to destroy house by house, school by school.

After the mass was over, one of the Golan's female children presented to his Holiness a book about the martyred town documented with clear- cut information and illustrated pictures about Quneitra before Israel's occupation and after its barbaric destruction that hit every part of the town. The child told the pope in passionate words:" we are happy today by the presence of Your Holiness with us, and we are confident of your help in bringing life back to our beautiful town which is called the " pearl of the Golan."

Later on, The Pope greeted the people crowded at the church and blessed the olive tree ( the symbol of peace) which will be planted in his own name in the garden of " the Friends of Quneitra."

The Governor, Hilal al-Atrash presented to the Pope the " Shield of Quneitra " and two pictures of the town before and after Israel's occupation. Thousands of citizens and school boys and girls crowded along the road where the Holy See had run. They carried national flags of Syria and the Vatican and posters welcoming the country's great guest and calling upon all peace and freedom loving forces to work for establishing a just and comprehensive peace based on implementation of the international legitimacy resolutions and the return of Israeli- usurped Arab rights and lands.

Earlier in the day, the Pope visited the Church of Saint Paul in the " Ban Kissan" area on the wall of Damascus. The Pipe and his companions performed prayers at the church from which Saint Paul the messenger had run away from the oppression of the Jews. The Pope later visited the refuge of saint Paul in the area of Tabbaleh amidst cheer hailing his visit. The refuge is the place where the messenger had hidden after his running away from Bab Kissaqn On Monday evening, the Pope met the youths of the Roman ( Greek) Catholic Patriarchy in Damascus. Patriarch Griogorius III Lahham welcomed the Pope. He said when Jesus was walking in Palestine roads and the shores of the Syrian Lake of Tiberies, and " our dear Golan," he met a youth who was looking for God. Jesus looked at him and loved him. Patriarch Lahham said: " we are pleased and all citizens of Syria are also pleased because our country is led by young President Bashar al-Assad, whose heart is full of potentials he devoted to serve his country."