Pilgrims' odyssey due to end tomorrow

The unusual odyssey of 25 members of the Pilgrim House Community will end at 7 a.m. tomorrow at the Greek port of Piraeus, from where they sailed on October 7th. Israel denied entry to the group when it arrived at Haifa on board the Cypriot-registered ferry, Nissos Kypros, on Sunday.

Community members were forced to return to the ship and were detained on board under police protection until the craft set sail on Monday.

The group, consisting of 18 Irish citizens, three Romanians and one Colombian, aged between 15 and 62, was also not permitted to disembark yesterday in the Cypriot port of Limassol. The government spokesman, Mr Michalis Papapetrou, said its members "refused to co-operate with the authorities absolutely . . . They refused to answer standard questions [put by the immigration officers] permitting them to enter the country . . . They refused to answer even a single question," he stated, "and they refused all offers of help."

Mr Glafkos Xenos, the Cyprus police spokesman, said community members refused to say whether they wanted to "enter the country as tourists or as applicants for work permits". They would not reveal whether they had funds to support a sojourn on the island.

The Cypriot authorities seemed puzzled by what it saw as the uncompromisingly uncooperative attitude of the group, although one informed source, speaking anonymously, said the Israeli police had used physical violence against community members, explaining the group's reluctance to co-operate with law enforcement officers since setting sail from Haifa.

A member of the Pilgrim House Community has reacted angrily to her community being described as a "fringe Catholic group" in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times.

Ms Bridget Ann Ryan, who is travelling with the group, said the description attributed to a spokesman for the Archbishop of Dublin was highly inflammatory and very serious language to be used in the current climate.

"That gives licence to others who are using words like cult which are not appropriate to us," said the former editor of the Irish Catholic.

The communications director of the Dublin archdiocese, Father John Dardis, yesterday issued a statement expressing concern for members of the Pilgrim House community. "We are aware of the work that the Pilgrim House community is involved in, and of the concerns that its members show, out of a Christian conviction, for people with disabilities," he said.