BETHLEHEM (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II arrived on Palestinian soil on March 22, and immediately expressed his sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people.
«Peace for the Palestinian people! Peace for all peoples of the region!» the Holy Father said as he arrived in Bethlehem. «No one can ignore how much the Palestinian people have had to suffer in recent decades. Your torment is before the eyes of the world, and it has gone on too long.»
The Pontiff was warmly greeted by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his presidential palace. After the short helicopter ride from Jerusalem, where he is staying during his trip to the Holy Land, the Pope kissed the Palestinian soil offered to him by a pair of young children in a bowl-- a custom he has developed since his declining health made it impossible for him to kneel and kiss the ground of each new country he visited. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls cautioned reporters should not interpret that gesture as a signal of Vatican recognition for the Palestinian state. Rather, he said, «It would be strange if the Pope did not embrace the ground of the place where Jesus was born.»
Among the dignitaries greeting the Pontiff where Palestinian officials, Catholic bishops, and leaders of the local Orthodox and Muslim communities. Yasser Arafat, who heard the Pope speak while seated with his wife in front of a huge photo of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem-- appeared particularly delighted by the presence of the Bishop of Rome.
«The Holy See has always recognized that the Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland,» the Pontiff told Arafat and his guest. He added that «my predecessors and I have repeatedly claimed that there would be no end to the sad conflict in the Holy Land without stable guarantees for the rights of all the peoples involved, on the basis of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions and declarations.»
Thanking Arafat for his warm welcome, the Pope went on to say that Bethlehem rightly holds a special place in the hearts of all Christian believers. «Bethlehem-- where a choir of angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men'-- stands out in every place and in every age, as the promise of God's gift of peace,» he said.
Pope John Paul continued: «The message of Bethlehem is good news of reconciliation among men, of peace at every level of relations between individuals and nations. Bethlehem is a universal crossroads where all peoples can meet to build a together a world worthy of our human dignity and destiny.»
The Pope concluded: «The promise of peace made at Bethlehem will become a reality for the world only when dignity and rights of all human beings made in the image of God are acknowledged and respected.»
Catholic World News - Feature