Pope begins biblical pilgrimage in Egypt

Pope John Paul II today begins a three-day trip to Egypt that is rich in historical, religious and political significance

Pope John Paul II today begins a three-day trip to Egypt that is rich in historical, religious and political significance. On what will be the 90th overseas trip of his 22-year pontificate, Pope John Paul (79) will include elements of political and inter-faith dialogue in a trip that essentially forms part of a much desired biblical pilgrimage to mark this year's Holy Jubilee.

When he arrives in Cairo this afternoon, the Pope will be greeted by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a key figure in Middle East politics and someone with whom the Pope and his advisers will be keen to assess recent Middle East peace process developments. The Pope will doubtless outline the significance of recent agreement between the Vatican and the Palestine Liberation Organisation calling for an internationally guaranteed statute for the city of Jerusalem.

The Pope will today also visit Patriarch Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the leader of Egypt's six million member Christian community. The Coptic Patriarch is certain to refer to the worsening climate in relations between Copts and Muslims, highlighted by increasing religious discrimination against Copts and underlined by recent religious violence. Over the New Year, 21 villagers from al-Kosheh in Upper Egypt were killed in a Muslim-Christian row that was prompted initially by a dispute between a Muslim woman and a Christian shopkeeper.

The Pope also meets Imam Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheik at the Islamic University of al-Azhar, arguably the most important Sunni Muslim centre in the world. While this is billed by the Vatican as a "courtesy visit", it nonetheless offers the Pope an opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of matters including common religious viewpoints and on the tensions between Christianity and Islam in many parts of the world.

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The high point of the trip, however, comes on Saturday when the Pope will visit Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. In his Jubilee Year pilgrimage plans, the Pope originally wanted to retrace the entire Bible story, beginning with Abraham in Ur (present-day Iraq), passing through Egypt and the Sinai in the footsteps of Moses, and ending with Christ in the Holy Land.

Although the Iraqi government cancelled the Ur section of his pilgrimage last December, the Pope yesterday made a "spiritual" trip to Ur in the course of an unusual Vatican ceremony held in memory of Abraham, who is considered the father of the world's three great monotheistic religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Pope John Paul returns to Rome on Saturday, and is due to complete the Holy Land leg of his pilgrimage next month.