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POP
CARRIES MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION TO LEBANON
Sunday,
May 11, 1997
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Pope
John Paul II brought a message of reconciliation to
war-shattered Lebanon yessterday, urging the Lebanese
to forgive the wrongs of years of strife between Muslims
and Christians. Tens of thousands of people lined the
streets of Beirut to see the pope ride by in his glass-enclosed
popemobile, past buildings still shattered by artillery
and pocked by bullets from Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.
 In
the crowd were Christian students in Tshirts, Muslim
women in veils and old men in flowing Arab headdresses.
Some ululated. Others chanted "Baba, Baba".
Onlookers showered the pope with rice and rose water,
a traditional Arab welcome.
"You are now the image of hope for all the Lebanese
people," President Elias Hrawi told the pontiff
upon his arrival at the airport.
There, John Paul spoke of the many who "died in
vain" during Lebanon's war, which grew out of the
conflicts arising when Muslims became a majority in
the traditionally Christian land. The war killed about
150,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
"That period, which has happily come to an end,
is still present in everyone's memory and has left many
scars on people's hearts," John Paul said.
The warm reception for what was the pope's first visit
reflected a broad acceptance of the trip by virtually
all Lebanese factions, from hard-line Christian to the
militant Muslim Hezbollah.
Later yesterday, the 76-year-old John Paul met with
young people in a prayer service at Harissa, 17 miles
north of Beirut and site of a sanctuary dedicated to
the Virgin Mary.
John Paul was greeted with a cheering, rock-concert-style
enthusiasm he has not seen for a long time from a crowd.
The government estimated the turnout at more than 20,000.
As Christians, John Paul told the young people, they
have a special duty to be "a luminous example"
of reconciliation.
The crowd interrupted with cries of "Liberty, liberty,"
to demand freedom for Lebanon, which is occupied by
both Syrian and Israeli troops. Some waved pictures
of Samir Geagea, a jailed Christian militia leader,
and Gen. Michel Aoun, who led a battle against Syria's
control in Lebanon but wound up in exile.
The formal purpose of the trip was the delivery today
of a major document outlining his aims for the Catholic
church in Lebanon.
The document is in response to a 1995 report by Lebanese
bishops that urged both Syria and Israel to withdraw
troops from Lebanon. Syria, which effectively controls
Lebanon, has 40,000 troops here. Israeli forces and
their Lebanese allies occupy 10 percent of the country
in the south to guard against cross-border guerrilla
attacks on Israel.
When asked on the papal flight whether his visit served
as a warning to Syria over its military presence, the
pope told reporters, "I'm going to Lebanon -- sovereign
Lebanon."
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