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Pope Seeks To Heal Catholic-Orthodox Rift
ATHENS, May 4 (News Agencies) - Pope John Paul II on Friday paid a ground-breaking visit to Greece and sought to heal a 1,000-year rift with an intransigent Orthodox church, making an apology for Catholic "sins" and joining with the Greek church's leader to condemn religious fanaticism.
With Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos holding his arm, the frail pontiff prayed on a hill where Saint Paul preached to the Athenians almost 2,000 years ago.
The two then issued a joint statement praying that Saint Paul's call for unity "would be heard throughout the Christian world" and condemning "all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism perpetrated in the name of religion."
In their statement - which was read out before an audience including President Costis Stephanoupolos, the entire Greek government and Conservative opposition leader Costas Caramanilis - John Paul II and Archbishop Christodoulos pledged "do all in our power to ensure Europe's Christian roots and Christian soul remain intact."
Earlier on Friday, the pope caused a sensation during an initial meeting with Archbishop Christodoulos by asking Orthodox believers to forgive the errors of the Roman Catholic church.
"For the occasions, past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by act or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of him," the pope said.
Archbishop Christodoulos, reportedly a fierce anti-papist, applauded.
The pope in particular apologized for the brutal sacking of Constantinople, the former Christian capital which is currently known as Istanbul, by Crusaders from Europe in 1204.
John Paul's arrival in Athens on Friday, two weeks before his 81st birthday, was the first visit to Greece by a pope since 1054, when Christianity split over doctrinal differences, giving rise to the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.
The two-day visit marks the start of a six-day pilgrimage in the steps of the Apostle Paul which will also take the pope to predominantly Muslim Syria and Catholic Malta in a bid to help heal religious differences.
"This is very, very positive. We've been waiting for this for 950 years," Father Thomas, Orthodox chancellor of the diocese of Athens told journalists after the pope's apology.
But the papal plea for unity was only a first step towards mollifying the Orthodox Church, which blames Catholics for the crusades and accuses Rome of aggressively trying to steal Orthodox believers.
The Greek Orthodox Church only grudgingly approved President Stephanopoulos' invitation to the pope and a record 4,500 police were mobilized for his trip - hundreds more than during an also-controversial visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1999.
Heavy security prevented the Catholic faithful getting within 150 meters of the Roman Catholic cathedral in central Athens.
And police, fearing protests by Orthodox extremists, banned traffic and closed underground stations in the city center.
In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church reacted cautiously, saying the pope's apology must be followed up by "positive, concrete action".
And despite their cordial meeting and joint statement, neither the pope nor Archbishop Christodoulos refrained from airing their communities' grievances.
John Paul II told Greek Catholic leaders in Athens he admired their efforts to guide their flock "under conditions that are often very difficult".
Greece's Catholic minority of 60,000, in a country of 10 million, which is 98% Orthodox, complain of discrimination, particularly in the armed forces, police and foreign ministry.
Archbishop Christodoulos went even further. "It's the first time in history that a pope from Rome has visited Athens and I rejoice, but my joy is made somber by the fact of our division," he said during his half-hour meeting with the pontiff.
Christodoulos spoke of the "destructive mania" of the crusades and the "negative activity" of the Byzantine Catholics. And while he applauded the papal apology for Catholic sins he regretted there was not "a word of sympathy" for ethnic purges in Cyprus.
"Much remains to be done to achieve harmony between Christians of the east and west to enable the church to breathe with both lungs," the pope acknowledged.
Heavy security avoided a repeat of last week's vociferous protests against the papal visit but the pope's arrival at Areopagus hill was marked by a demonstration by a group of 150 Orthodox traditionalists.
Leaflets, including one proclaiming: "The Pope is the Antichrist," were distributed to the onlookers and watching media.
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