POPE ASKS BEIRUT TO FORGIVE; WARM CROWD GREETS PONTIFF IN LEBANON.

Byline: Daniel J. Wakin Associated Press 

Showered with rice and rosewater in a spirited traditional welcome, Pope John Paul II appealed Saturday to the people of war-battered Lebanon to forgive years of brutal strife between Muslims and Christians.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Beirut to see the pope ride by in his glass-enclosed Popemobile, past the remnants of buildings crushed by artillery during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

In the crowd were Christian students in T-shirts, Muslim women in veils and old men in flowing Arab headdress. Some ululated. Others chanted ``Baba, Baba'' - Arabic for pope.

``You are now the image of hope for all the Lebanese people,'' President Elias Hrawi told the pontiff upon his arrival at the airport.

There, John Paul II spoke of the many who ``died in vain'' during Lebanon's war, which was sparked by conflicts that began after Muslims became a majority in the traditionally Christian land. The war killed about 150,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

``That period, which has happily come to an end, is still present in everyone's memory and has left many scars on people's hearts,'' John Paul II said.

The warm reception for what was the pope's first visit reflected a broad acceptance of the trip by virtually all Lebanese factions, from hard-line Christians to the militant Muslim Hezbollah.

Later Saturday, the 76-year-old John Paul II met with young people at a prayer service at Harissa, about 15 miles north of Beirut and site of a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

John Paul II was greeted with cheering, rock-concert-style enthusiasm he has not seen for a long time from a crowd. The government estimated the turnout at more than 20,000.

As Christians, John Paul II told the young people, they have a special duty to be ``a luminous example'' of reconciliation.

The crowd interrupted with cries of ``Liberty, liberty,'' to demand freedom for Lebanon, which is occupied by both Syrian and Israeli troops. Some waved pictures of Samir Geagea, a jailed Christian militia leader, and Gen. Michel Aoun, who led a battle against Syria's control in Lebanon but wound up in exile.

His remarks to the young people echoed his message to the crowd that greeted him at the airport, where the pope urged the Lebanese to commit themselves to ``peace, reconciliation and fraternal life'' by showing ``forgiveness and by working in the service of the national community.''

The formal purpose of the trip was the delivery today of a major document outlining his aims for the Roman Catholic Church in Lebanon.

The document is in response to a 1995 report by Lebanese bishops that urged both Syria and Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon. Syria, which effectively controls Lebanon, has 40,000 troops here. Israeli forces and their Lebanese allies occupy 10 percent of the country in the south to guard against cross-border guerrilla attacks on Israel.

When asked on the papal flight whether his visit served as a warning to Syria over its military presence, the pope told reporters, ``I'm going to Lebanon - sovereign Lebanon.''

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Photo: Thousands wave Saturday to John Paul II as he rides his bulletproof Popemobile through the streets of war-torn Beirut, Lebanon.

Associated Press