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CNN Saturday Morning News

Pope Retraces Journey of Apostle Paul

Aired May 05, 2001 - 09:08   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II has arrived in Syria on day two of his pilgrimage following the journeys of the Apostle Paul. He made a plea for church unity in his first stop in Greece yesterday. He is to make a plea for peace in the Middle East while in Syria today.

CNN's Brent Sadler is on the line with us from Damascus -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.

Pope John Paul II is now embarking on the second leg of his pilgrimage to the eastern Mediterranean, arriving in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after that groundbreaking visit to Greece. In Athens, the pope sought to heal a 1,000-year chasm with the Orthodox Church, making a dramatic plea for Orthodox believers to forgive the errors of the Roman Catholic Church dating back centuries.

Unlike in Greece, where there had been organized Orthodox opposition to the pope's visit, the Holy Father should have a much smoother ecumenical ride here in Syria. In this country, Christian faith make up around 10 percent of Syria's 17 million Muslim population. Around 310,000 of those Christians practice Roman Catholicism.

Over the centuries, Syria has sent six popes to Rome, but this is the first time the country has actually received one, and it comes less than a year after the young Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, assumed the nation's leadership, succeeding his late father, Hafez al- Assad, during a smooth transition of power.

Much regional attention will be fixed on what the pope will have to say when he makes two highly symbolic appearances here, inside the Omayed (ph) Mosque in central Damascus -- that will be another groundbreaking event for this pope -- and a trip to the ghost city of Kinatra (ph) in the Syrian Golan Heights, less than an hour's drive from the Syrian capital.

Kinatra was occupied by the Israelis back in 1967, but they systematically destroyed it before being forced to relinquish the land seven years later. The Syrian leader, in welcoming the pope and touching on the peace process, said, quote, "Our brethren in Palestine are being murdered and tortured. Justice," said the Syrian president, "is being violated, and as a result territories in Lebanon, the Golan, and Palestine have been occupied by those," he said, "who even kill the principle of equality."

Now, the pope will actually have prayers on the Golan. He'll plant an olive tree for peace. And in his response to the Syrian president's welcoming address, the pope said that it's time to return to the principles of international legality and the banning, said the pope, of the acquisition of territory by force.

So this is going to be a very interesting trip these next four days that the pope's in Damascus.

Back to you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Brent, we watched the pontiff gingerly step down the -- off the plane just a little while ago in Syria. How is he holding up as far as stamina? He's a few weeks shy of his 81st birthday and ailing a bit.

SADLER: Yes, indeed. It's been obvious for some time that the pope has difficulty getting about, his mobility restricted. But even though he stumbled at the top of the aircraft steps, it was -- he was able to actually get down unaided there to the bottom of those stairs, and he walked with the Syrian president through a welcoming crowd.

Yes, he is showing signs of illness, he's showing signs of age, but clearly the pope is showing absolute commitment to carrying on with the goals of the -- some of the goals of his pontificate in terms of reaching out to Orthodox churches, to heal that chasm that goes back 1,000 years, and reaching out to Muslims, and very much part of that program is what is going to be taking part here in Syria over the next few days -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: That's impressive stamina. All right, Brent Sadler in Damascus.

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