Pope John Paul in Quneitra prays for peace, plants olive tree
Syria-Vatican, Politics, 5/8/2001

Pope John Paul II on Monday in the Syrian liberated city of Quneitra held a large mass to pray for peace in the Middle East region.

The mass was attended by high ranking Syrian officials and crowded number of citizens.

In a speech he made, the Pope hailed peace making as sons of the Lord who, from this place ( Quneitra) which was destroyed by the war, call for peace. His holiness said:" I pray for peace in the holy lands and world-wide. Genuine peace is a gift from the God, and our openness to this gift requires faithful guidance of the heart. Engulfed with a deep faith and with a gratefulness to this land in which saint Paul had run declaring the truth of the God and heralding Jesus Christ, we pray for the Lord to make the hearts of all follow reconciliation and create peace."

He also asked the God to extend his hope to help the people in the Middle East to destroy the wall of enmity and wars and to build a world of justice. Following the mass, a girl from the occupied Syrian Golan gave his Holiness a book about Quneitra and expressed happiness with the visit of the Pontiff and told him that her parents told her how happy the life in Quneitra before the brutal Israeli aggression on the city.

The Pope also received a latter from the women of Quneitra in which they expressed their hope that his visit would contribute to just and comprehensive peace in the region.

They also asked his Holiness to intervene so they can see their relatives in the main land Syria and to end the Israeli occupation that prevent them from joining their families.

The Holy See received from the governor of Quneitra presents which included the Shield of Quneitra and two photos of the city before and after the Israeli occupation.

Worthy mentioning is that Quneitra is the capital of the Syrian Golan and it was destroyed not by war activities but by the Israeli forces few days prior to their pullout from it.

The Israeli forces, systematically, intentionally and brutally, used bulldozers and explosives to destroy house by house, school by school.

After the mass was over, one of the Golan's female children presented to his Holiness a book about the martyred town documented with clear- cut information and illustrated pictures about Quneitra before Israel's occupation and after its barbaric destruction that hit every part of the town. The child told the pope in passionate words:" we are happy today by the presence of Your Holiness with us, and we are confident of your help in bringing life back to our beautiful town which is called the " pearl of the Golan."

Later on, The Pope greeted the people crowded at the church and blessed the olive tree ( the symbol of peace) which will be planted in his own name in the garden of " the Friends of Quneitra."

The Governor, Hilal al-Atrash presented to the Pope the " Shield of Quneitra " and two pictures of the town before and after Israel's occupation.

Thousands of citizens and school boys and girls crowded along the road where the Holy See had run. They carried national flags of Syria and the Vatican and posters welcoming the country's great guest and calling upon all peace and freedom loving forces to work for establishing a just and comprehensive peace based on implementation of the international legitimacy resolutions and the return of Israeli- usurped Arab rights and lands.

Earlier in the day, the Pope visited the Church of Saint Paul in the " Ban Kissan" area on the wall of Damascus.

The Pipe and his companions performed prayers at the church from which Saint Paul the messenger had run away from the oppression of the Jews.

The Pope later visited the refuge of saint Paul in the area of Tabbaleh amidst cheer hailing his visit. The refuge is the place where the messenger had hidden after his running away from Bab Kissaqn.

On Monday evening, the Pope met the youths of the Roman ( Greek) Catholic Patriarchy in Damascus. Patriarch Griogorius III Lahham welcomed the Pope. He said when Jesus was walking in Palestine roads and the shores of the Syrian Lake of Tiberies, and " our dear Golan," he met a youth who was looking for God. Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Patriarch Lahham said: " we are please and all citizens of Syria are also please because our country is led by young President Bashar al-Assad, whose heart is full of potentials he devoted to serve his country."

Previous Stories:
  Interviews :On the Pope 's visit to Damascus   (5/7/2001)
  Pope blesses large audience at Damascus mass   (5/7/2001)
  Pope visits the Umayyad Mosque   (5/7/2001)

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