Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Pope Visits Syria

Aired May 05, 2001 - 08:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In news from abroad this morning, Pope John Paul II is in Syria at this hour. His plane touched down in Damascus about one hour ago. The papal visit is rich in symbolism, historically, religiously and politically and it comes on the heels of his unprecedented pilgrimage to Greece.

CNN's Brent Sadler joins us now by phone with the details of the pontiff's arrival and what's on his agenda while he's in Syria -- hello, Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Pope John Paul II has started the second leg of his pilgrimage to the eastern Mediterranean, arriving in the Syrian capital Damascus a short time ago. Unlike in Greece, where there had been organized Christian Orthodox opposition to the pope's visit, the Holy Father should have a much smoother ecumenical ride in Syria. Christian faiths here make up only 10 percent of the country's 17 million Muslim population and around 310,000 of those Christians practice Roman Catholicism.

Over the centuries since Syria has sent six popes to Rome, but this is the first time the country has actually received one. Leading the Syrian welcome was President Bashar Al-Assad, who succeeded his late father, Hafez Al-Assad during a smooth transition of power last year.

The pope will use his pilgrimage to help further his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. On Monday, the holy father will travel to the ghost city of Kanatra (ph) in the Syrian Golan Heights. Kanatra was occupied by the Israelis back in 1967, but they systematically destroyed it before being forced to relinquish the land seven years later. The future of the Golan Heights, which still remain largely under Israeli occupation, is one of the biggest obstacles to finding a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement and the Syrian leader, Bashar Al-Assad, had this to say about the rising tension in the Middle East.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA (through translator): And we know that in your prayers, in which you remember the suffering of Jesus Christ, your holiness will certainly remember the suffering of people in Lebanon and Golan and Palestine who are also suffering. (END AUDIO CLIP)

SADLER: The Syrian leadership is certainly hoping to use this as an opportunity to throw light on the Syrian attitude towards peacemaking. The pope, in his address at the airport, said it was "time to return to the principles of international legality, the banning of the acquisition of territory by force and the right of peoples to self-determination and respect," he said, for the resolutions of the United Nations organization and the Geneva Conventions.

It will be a very interesting groundbreaking trip over the next four days here as the pope makes his way around various religious sites in Damascus and to that very symbolically important, as far as Mideast peacemaking is concerned, trip to the occupied, or rather overlooking the Israeli occupied part of the Golan Heights -- back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brent Sadler, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com