Mubarak attends official farewell ceremonies of the Pontiff
Egypt-Vatican, Politics, 2/28/2000

President Hosni Mubarak bade farewell to Pope John Paul II of Vatican who left Cairo after a 3-day historic visit during which he was intimately received.

The Pontiff said he is extremely happy and impressed for performing pilgrimage to Mount Sinai that stands lofty to remind us of the revelation of God Almighty to Prophet Moses in this place and also with Moses' receiving of the Ten Commandments.

In his sermon Saturday morning at the Garden of Olive, outside Saint Catherine Monastery, His Holiness said Moses had received on top of Mount Sinai the laws of life and freedom.

"Today and tomorrow we find that the Decalogue forms the genuine pillars of the lives of peoples, societies and nations," said Pope John Paul II.

The Pope praised the role of St. Catherine's Monastery through many centuries as a gathering place for various Christian denominations and expressed hope it would provide call on all of them in the new millennium to understand each other and to understand that their main goal is to agree on their love for Jesus Christ.

He thanked Bishop Makarios of the Coptic Catholic Church and Bishop Makari of the Coptic Orthodox Church for their presence and Archbishop of St. Catherine Demianos for his warm hospitality.

He voiced hope that the monastery would continue to provide a spiritual oasis for all churches.

The Pope sent on the last day of his visit to Egypt a message of love and peace to the whole world through a mass held Saturday morning at Saint Catherine Monastery.

"The current visit by Pope Paul II to Egypt is a religious and spiritual one that he made to perform a pilgrimage to the land where Jesus Christ once stayed, "Egypt's Ambassador to the Vatican Hussein Al Sadr said.

But it would be difficult for His Holiness to be with a person like President Hosni Mubarak and only talk of spiritual matter leacing political developments around the world aside, he told the BBC on Saturday.

"Both figures are responsible for shaping world public opinion and they must exchange views on the global and regional situation," he said.

On whether the Kosheh clashes in early January had been raised at their meeting, he said: I don't think so at all, knowing the Vatican officials and their understanding of matters, this issue will not worry such a great person as a pope...a clash that happened in a small place that has no other implications.

The Ambassador said religious clashes do happen in other parts of the world.

The President has talked of a global issue and not a domestic one, and he raised this point during his speech when he welcomed the pope, he added.

"We want to provide the climate for peaceful coexistence in the world between Christians and Muslims in general," he said.

Ambassador Sadr said a Vatican-Azhar Conference will be held in April between a Catholic university and an Azhar faculty with the aim of reaching Muslim-Christian coexistence.

The meeting between the Pope and Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi was candid and the Pontiff raised the issue of cooperation within the cultural dimensions of Islam and Christianity, he told the BBC.

Previous Stories:
  El-Baz statements on the Pope's visit to Cairo   (2/26/2000)
  Pope calls for dialogue, tolerance among religions   (2/26/2000)
  Pope calls for peace   (2/25/2000)

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