Pope makes historic appearance. (News in Brief: Vatican).

Rome--In an event underscoring both the warmth Italy feels for him and the healing of centuries-old wounds between Italy and the papacy, Pope John Paul II has become the first Pope to address the Italian parliament. On November 14, 2002, he spoke on several burning issues facing Italy, including the "grave threat" posed by the country's low birth rate. He also rejected abortion, which has been legal in Italy since 1978.

In his address, John Paul II urged legislators to enact pro-family policies that would "make the task of having children and bringing them up less burdensome both socially and economically." He also addressed a broad range of other topics, including clemency for prisoners, a new European constitution that recognizes Christianity's tradition on the continent, a reduction in unemployment, funding of Catholic schools, moral decay fed by media, immigration, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A few legislators, mostly communists, stayed away from the speech on the grounds that Italy is a non-religious state; a group of homosexual activists protested nearby. On the other hand, a fugitive Mafia boss turned himself in after being inspired by the Pope's comments.

A few days later, John Paul II also became the first Pope to be recognized as an honourary citizen of Rome.

The Catholic Church ruled a large swath of central Italy until 1860. Italy was united as a nation state when Garibaldi and his troops captured Rome in 1870 and stripped the papacy of its temporal powers. From then on Popes considered themselves "prisoners of the Vatican," the Vatican being a single palace in Rome. They remained isolated until 1929 when, in an agreement with Benito Mussolini, 44 hectares (108 acres) were set aside to become the sovereign city-state known as Vatican City.