c. 2000 Religion News Service

AMMAN, Jordan _ Pope John Paul II began his long-anticipated pilgrimage to the Holy Land on Monday (March 20) with an appeal for peace and a visit in the footsteps of Moses to the biblical site of Mount Nebo.

The 79-year-old pontiff, his movements made laborious by Parkinson’s disease, slowly climbed to a lookout point to see a broad panorama of rolling hills _ the Old Testament’s Promised Land that Moses had seen but was not allowed to enter before his death. Towering above the site was the messianic symbol of a bronze serpent twined around a cross.

The Rev. Michele Piccirillo, a Franciscan monk who is an expert on the site and the 4th century Monastery of Mount Nebo, built on the site of a still earlier monastery, acted as the pope’s guide. The monastery has been in the hands of the Franciscan custodians of the Holy Land since 1933.

The pope listened in silence, his eyes sweeping the vista, and crossed himself before he descended.

Inside the monastery, Piccirillo showed John Paul precious 4th century mosaics on chapel floors. Because they depicted flora and fauna they escaped destruction during the iconoclastic period of the 8th and 9th centuries when many in the church rejected the veneration of sacred images as idolatry.

Scores of children, teachers, nuns and monks lined up to kiss the pope’s ring as he sat on a dark red velvet throne inside the monastery.

John Paul stroked the bowed head of an elderly woman and kissed a baby in its mother’s arms.

The pope drove directly from Queen Alia International Airport to Mount Nebo, which is 25 kilometers southwest of Amman, the capital of Jordan.

In the nearby town of Madaba, an ancient Christian enclave famous for its Byzantine churches and mosaics, both Christians and Muslims turned out to await the pope’s passage in his bullet-proof popemobile just before dusk.

King Abdallah II, other members of the royal family and Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim leaders greeted the 79-year-old Catholic pontiff as he descended from his special Alitalia jetliner.

The king described the pope’s visit as a mission of “hope.”

Speaking at the airport ceremony, he said that it would encourage “Palestinians who yearn for justice and stability,” as well as Israelis seeking “security and acceptance,” and Lebanese and Syrians who yearn for a “better tomorrow” and an end to war.

On his arrival in Jordan, the pope walked slowly but without help down the red-carpeted landing stairs.

Among the first Jordanian citizens to greet the pope were a Muslim boy and Christian girl garbed in traditional long white Arab robes. They presented the pontiff with a bowl of Jordanian earth, which he kissed, and with three doves of peace _ a ceremony underscoring the communal bonds between Jordan’s majority Muslim and the tiny Christian communities. Christians make up just 3 percent of Jordan’s population.

In his brief address, John Paul said he had wanted since the beginning of his pontificate more than 22 years ago to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ by making a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

“From the beginning of my ministry as bishop of Rome, I have had a great desire to mark this event by praying in some of the places linked to salvation history _ places that speak to us of that moment’s long preparation through biblical times, places where our Lord Jesus Christ actually lived or which are connected with his work of redemption,” he said.

Recalling that last month he visited Egypt and Mount Sinai where the Old Testament says God revealed his name to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments, the pope said, “Today I am in Jordan _ a land sanctified by the presence of Jesus himself, by the presence of Moses, Elijah and John the Baptist and of saints and martyrs of the early church.”

John Paul praised the concern of Jordan’s late King Hussein, of Abdallah and of all Jordanians, Muslims and Christians, for peace throughout the Middle East.

“In this area of the world there are grave and urgent issues of justice, of the rights of peoples and nations, which have to be resolved for the good of all concerned and as a condition for a lasting peace,” he said. “No matter how difficult, no matter how long, the process of seeking peace must continue.”

Among those who turned out to see the pope pass on his way to Mount Nebo was Muhammed Suleiman, a Muslim originally from Madaba who now operates a chain of jewelry stores in Santa Fe, N.M., and who had come back home to Madaba in order to be in the town to welcome the pope as he passed on the street.

“This will make the nation feel that all of us, both Christians and Muslims are one community,”said Suleiman proudly.

“If you think about it, Christianity and Islam, we believe in the same God. The differences are in the practice. We go to the mosque, they go to the church,” said Suleiman, who described himself as a religious Muslim.

“I hope his visit will also make a difference,” he added. “I hope it will bring pilgrims from all over the world to this place.”

After a three-hour wait, Suleiman and the townspeople cheered and clapped as the bullet-proof popemobile finally whizzed through the streets. After it passed, everyone quickly dispersed for home.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Speaking to journalists just prior to the pope’s arrival, Jordan’s Prince Hassan, said he would like to see the excitement generated by the visit leave something more than just a passing impression on Jordan and the region.

“One of the messages of this visit is hope. But I, personally, hope that this visit is not just a respite for the problems that have bedeviled this region for many decades,” said the prince, the brother of the late King Hussein.

“This visit gives those of us locked into the day-to-day grind a chance to breathe,” he said. “But I hope that it is not just a gasp of oxygen, but a chance to move from a culture of survival to a culture of conversation in this region.”

“Obviously, all sides will attempt to build positions on such an important visit, but when we speak about respect for life _ the human habitat, I think there is something extremely important here that you can use in the visit to move onto particulars.”

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

From Jordan, John Paul will travel Tuesday (March 21) to Israel and the Autonomous Palestinian Territories.

Jordan mounted maximum security for the papal visit although a cordial welcome was expected from Muslims as well as Christians. In Israel, however, Jewish extremists defaced a heliport prepared for the pope with swastikas, splashes of blood red paint and the slogan, “Pope out.”

The trip is the second lap on the pope’s spiritual pilgrimage to biblical sites to mark the start of the third millennium of Christianity. The Vatican said he also hopes to encourage ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and help to create a climate for peace in the Middle East as Israelis and Palestinians resume negotiations in the United States.

The trip is the 91st he has made outside of Italy since becoming pontiff and the 100th modern day papal trip.

DEA END POLK/FLETCHER