Скачать или смотреть WEST BANK: BETHLEHEM: POPE JOHN PAUL II - MASS (2)

(22 Mar 2000) English/Nat

Pope John Paul the Second has made a pilgrimage to the town of Jesus' birth in the West Bank that's also being seen as a powerful endorsement of Palestinian statehood hopes.

The Palestinians lost no time in driving home their aspirations for independence, as they greeted the frail 79-year-old Pope before he celebrated an open-air Mass with a crowd of thousands in Bethlehem.

After meeting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the Pope travelled by his bulletproof popemobile to Bethlehem's Manger Square for an ecstatic welcome at the traditional site of Christ's birth.

In the square, draped with Palestinian and Vatican flags, shouts of "Viva Baba!" - the Arabic adaptation of the word Pope - rang out.

Clad in gold-and-white robes, John Paul waved his hand in greeting and blessed the crowd with "Salaam aleikum" - Arabic for "Peace be upon you."

Hands trembling as he preached from a covered stage set up by the fortresslike Church of the Nativity, the Pope said he had long wanted to come to Bethlehem.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"In contemplation of the mission of the incarnation, I have wished to come here in this jubilee year to visit Bethlehem, the house of birth, the holy grace where our saviour was born."
SUPER CAPTION: Pope John Paul II

During the two-hour Mass, he leaned heavily on his silver sceptre, often bowing his
head in solemn prayer.

The pontiff blessed the faithful, saying "Peace be upon you." He also praised God for bringing him to Jesus' birthplace.

Arafat, together with his Christian-born wife Soha, listened in a front row, holding a prayer book.

The Pope said Bethlehem lay at the heart of the pilgrimage he had long dreamed of making in this millennial year.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"In this year of the great jubilee to the place of the saviour's birth. Bethlehem is the heart of my jubilee pilgrimage."
SUPER CAPTION: Pope John Paul II

As the Pope finished his homily, the Muslim call to prayer rang out from a mosque in the square, and the crowd and the pontiff alike waited silently for the wail of Koranic verses to end.

Security was tight, despite the festive mood.

Streets around the square were closed off and pilgrims' bags were checked at electronic security gates.

The Vatican has said the Pope's week-long Holy Land tour was a spiritual journey and that he wanted to stay above the political fray.

But that has turned out to be a nearly impossible task.

On Tuesday, upon the Pope's arrival in Israel, Israeli leaders made repeated references to disputed Jerusalem as the eternal Israeli capital.

The Palestinians demand the eastern sector of the city as their capital.

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