Pope John Paul has asked for forgiveness for sins committed by Catholics against Orthodox Christians. He was speaking in Athens yesterday during the first papal visit to Greece since the Eastern and Western churches split on the issue of papal authority in 1054.
"For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of him," the Pope said at a meeting with Archbishop Christodoulos, head of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Archbishop Christodoulos clapped as the Pope spoke and said he "has been very kind to us". But he noted there was "much work to be done".
Last March the archbishop criticised the Catholic Church for intransigence. Yesterday neither he nor other Greek Orthodox Church leaders went to the airport to meet the Pope. The Greek Orthodox Church leadership agreed grudgingly to the papal visit and placed many restrictions on the Pope's itinerary.
There are an estimated 200,000 Catholics among Greece's 10 million population, including 53,000 Greek-born Catholics, and they frequently complain of discrimination.
Archbishop Christodoulos travels to Moscow today for meetings with Russian Orthodox leaders, who have strongly resisted contacts with the Vatican. It is now believed this may help pave the way for a papal visit to Russia, which Rome has been seeking for some time.
The Pope's visit to Athens marked the beginning of his six-day pilgrimage in the footsteps of St Paul, which will take him to Syria later tomorrow and then to Malta.
Security was tight in Athens yesterday because of opposition to the visit from the country's Orthodox majority.
At his meeting with Archbishop Christodoulos, Pope John Paul said, in seeking forgiveness, he was thinking of "the disastrous sack of the imperial city of Constantinople, which was so long the bastion of Christianity in the East. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret," he said.
He was referring to the sack of Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Crusaders in 1204, which Greeks believe so weakened the Byzantine Empire it paved the way for Turkish dominance which continued until the 1920s.
The Pope implored God to "heal the wounds which still cause suffering to the spirit of the Greek people".
"Division between Christians is a sin before God and a scandal before the world. The Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the path of unity with all the churches," he said.
The Pope travelled to Greece without Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud, a Uniate or Byzantine Catholic (Eastern Christians who are loyal to Rome), due to Orthodox concerns the cardinal's presence would jeopardise further an already tense relationship.
The Orthodox Church opposes what it sees as proselytism by the Catholic Church among Uniates in eastern and southern Europe.
At the airport the Pope, who is 81 on May 18th, was met by the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr George Papandreou. He was presented with a basket containing Greek soil and an olive branch, which he kissed.
The Pope travelled into the city in the President's armoured limousine, through virtually deserted streets. He also visited the Areopagus, a hill across from the Acropolis where St Paul preached to the Athenians almost 2,000 years ago.
