SYRIA - May 6 - Pope Visits.

Pope John Paul II joined by the Mufti Ahmed Kuftaro enters the Omayyad Mosque. (He is the first pontiff to enter the 1,300-year-old mosque which was built in 705 on a site that was once used for pagan sacrifice in honour of the Roman God Jupiter, and later became a Christian basilica. At the peak of the Omayyad caliph's rule, it was converted to a mosque, with John's relics given a central place. A connected courtyard also contains the tomb of Saladin, the Muslim warrior who reconquered Jerusalem from the Crusaders). He warmly shakes hands with Mufti Kuftaro and urges forgiveness between members of the two faiths. They also exchange gifts: a picture of the Virgin Mary and a Koran. The pope says: "For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness. It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as communities in respectful dialogue, never more as communities in conflict. It is crucial for the young to be taught the ways of respect and understanding, so that they will not be led to misuse religion itself to promote or justify hatred and violence". (The mosque visit continues the theme of interfaith tolerance struck in Athens when the Pope asked forgiveness from the Eastern Orthodox churches for the schism that split Christianity). The Pope has, however, been given constant reminders of the tension that still divides the region. Pres. Bashar Assad asked for support against Israel in a way that indicted all Jews for crimes that included the betrayal of Christ. Mufti Kuftaro and other Syrian officials said Zionism was trying to keep Christians and Muslims apart and even explaining to the Pope his obligation to Christ. Mufti Kuftaro pleaded for "the Catholic church all over the world with his holiness the Pope at its head and the Christian governments of the West to stand in support of justice and put pressure on Israel by every means to curb its atrocious aggression". He added: "This is the least that Christianity, as a proof of its allegiance to Jesus Christ, can offer the world". On May 7, the Pope, praying in the remains of a Greek Orthodox church in the town of Quneitra, called for a "conversion of heart" among all parties in the Middle East conflict to bring about peace in the region. On May 8 he left for Malta.