Papal visit ends at sites sacred to three faiths

Crowning his Holy Land pilgrimage, Pope John Paul II sank to his knees Sunday at the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, paid emotional tribute at the Western Wall to the sufferings of Jews, and stood on the hilltop revered by Muslims as the spot where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.

Treading on ground sacred to all three faiths in the ancient confines of the walled Old City, the pontiff was reminded again and again of the region's explosive politics and competing claims to sovereignty over Jerusalem.

At the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, the stooped, white-robed pontiff shuffled slowly foward to hold a trembling hand to the massive stones. Echoing the tradition of observant Jews who customarily tuck notes between the yellowed blocks, he placed a copy of a speech made earlier this month in Rome expressing profound sorrow over Christians' past persecution of Jews.

"God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your name to the nations," he murmured. "We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer and, asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant."

The visit to the sun-splashed plaza, on the last day of the pope's weeklong pilgrimage, came immediately after a stop at the hilltop just above - the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, the third-holiest Islamic shrine.

There, the pontiff was greeted by the top Islamic cleric in Jerusalem, or mufti, and other Palestinian clerics and dignitaries, including the top PLO official in the disputed city. An aide steadied him as he moved through the small crowd.

"The holy city of Jerusalem has been eternally bonded to Islam," the mufti, Ikrema Sabri, told the pontiff. "We request that you stand by justice in order to end the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem."

Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy shrines, from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it into its capital.

"Long live Palestine!" about 1,000 schoolchildren chanted in a march staged nearby as the pope arrived. Palestinians released hundreds of balloons in the green, white and black Palestinian colors, and floated aloft a huge Palestinian flag held up by other balloons. Some of the balloons drifted over the plaza just below, which fronts the Western Wall.

The hilltop - home to the Dome of the Rock mosque, whose huge gold dome is one of Jerusalem's most recognizable landmarks - is known to Jews as the Temple Mount for the biblical temples that once stood there.

At the Western Wall, Rabbi Michael Melchior, an Israeli Cabinet minister, told the pope that "God's presence has never budged from the Western Wall."

"We commit ourselves to end the manipulations of the sanctity of Jerusalem for political gain," he said. However, he did not repeat assertions made by other Israeli officials in the past week in the presence of the pope - that Jerusalem is Israel's eternal capital. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their future capital.

Inside the cavernous, tallow-scented Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, John Paul sank to his knees in front of the stone where tradition holds Christ's dead body was anointed by mourners. He again knelt in prayer inside the enclosure over the traditional site of Jesus' tomb, touching his lips to the stone.

Clad in a purple robe, he recited the final Mass of his visit, surrounded by clerics from the Christian sects that share a sometimes acrimonious custody of the church, one of Christianity's most revered shrines.

At all his stops, some protesters were angered by the presence of the pope, though none was allowed anywhere near the pontiff. At Al Aqsa, about 15 people shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - God is great - and yelled at the Israeli police guarding the pontiff. Some engaged in pushing and shoving with Palestinian security, yelling that it was shameful to have allowed the pope into the compound.

At the Western Wall, 57-year-old Jewish Orthodox teacher Leah Morgenstern carried a sign saying "Jerusalem is the heart of Israel."

"The pope doesn't think Jerusalem is for Jews...the Jews are not a nation in his mind," she said.