Pope for Palestinian homeland

BETHLEHEM (WEST BANK), MARCH 22. Pope John Paul today made an impassioned plea for a Palestinian homeland at the start of a historic visit to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus.

``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 Pope said in a speech at a welcoming ceremony with the Palestinian President, Mr. Yasser Arafat.

The Pope, on a week-long pilgrimage to the holy land, said the Vatican had always recognised that the Palestinian people ``have the natural right to a homeland, and the right to be able to live in peace and tranquility with the other peoples of this area''.

The Pope said legitimate Palestinian aspirations could only be met through a just and lasting peace and he called for courage, compromise and ``compliance with the demands of justice'' from the parties involved. On arrival in Bethlehem, he kissed a bowl of soil, an act seen by Palestinians as a papal seal for their aspirations to an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza strip.

The Pope today celebrated the first papal mass here recalling the birth of Christ 2,000 years ago and urging Palestinians not to be afraid of the future.

``Today from Manger Square, we cry out to every time and place, and to every person, peace be with you. Do not be afraid!'' the Pope told the crowd of thousands. ``These are divine words, spoken by Jesus himself.''

In one of the high points of his 21-year papacy, the Pope was wildly cheered by thousands of Palestinians as well as foreigners overjoyed at his long-awaited pilgrimage to the roots of Christianity.

``John Paul II, we love you,'' they shouted as he celebrated the mass outside the Church of the Nativity, built over the site where Christian tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Wearing gold robes and a tunic embroidered with church icons, he sat on a flower-bedecked stage with a smiling Mr. Arafat among the front-row guests.

In his address the Pope called Jesus the ``prince of peace'' and said he was aware this was an especially important time in Palestinian history.

He also greeted the majority Palestinian Muslim community of Bethlehem and called for ``a new era of understanding and cooperation among all the peoples of the holy land''.

- Reuters, AFP

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Section  : International
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