COURTESY VISITS TO SHENOUDA III AND GRAND SHEIKH TANTAWI

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 2000 (VIS) - Following the welcome ceremony at Cairo's international airport today and the meeting with Hosni Mubarak, president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Pope travelled to the apostolic nunciature where he spent the afternoon.

At 6 p.m., he made a courtesy call on His Holiness Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, at his Cairo residence, where, after a brief visit, they prayed together.

John Paul II then went to the residence of Imam Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar. Al-Azhar Mosque-University is Sunni Islam's most prestigious center for the teaching of theology and religious sciences. It is the oldest Islamic university in the world, having been founded at the end of the tenth century.

Following the courtesy visits, the Holy Father returned to the apostolic nunciature, where he dined and spent the night.

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PRESS OFFICE STATEMENT ON BASILICA INCIDENT

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2000 (VIS) - Following is a declaration made yesterday afternoon by Holy See Press Office Vice Director Fr. Ciro Benedettini regarding the incident that occurred yesterday on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica:

"This morning at around 11 a.m., three youths lowered themselves from the lantern of the dome of St. Peter's onto two lunettes and unfurled banners displaying environmentalist slogans.

"The protest came to an end at 4 p.m. when the three demonstrators, with the assistance of firemen, returned to the lantern on the cupola.

"The three were taken to the offices of the Vatican security forces and identified.

"They turned out to belong to an environmentalist group, 'Solidarios con Itoiz.' Two held Spanish passports and the other a German passport. Their aim was to protest against the construction of a dam in northern Spain."

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HOLY FATHER'S PLEAS FOR PEOPLE OF NIGERIA AND MOZAMBIQUE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2000 (VIS) - At the conclusion of this morning's Mass in Cairo's Sports Stadium, Pope John Paul thanked everyone "who contributed to the beauty, joy and fervor of this celebration," and then spoke of the tragedies which had occurred in Nigeria and Mozambique.

"I have learned with sorrow," he said, speaking French, "that in Nigeria tension has caused many deaths. While deploring every form of violence, I pray the Lord that all inhabitants of this country might adhere to living in fraternity, based on respect for persons and on religious freedom. These values can only open to the future for the Nigerian nation.

"I also entrust to the Lord the peoples of Mozambique, struck by very serious flooding, May they find the effective solidarity which they need in the international community."

Then, in English, Pope John Paul added; "I greet all the brothers and sisters of the Church in Sudan, some of whom are present here. I pray for you." He closed by saying "thank you" in Arabic; "Shukran! Shukran!

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CHURCH SEEKS TO EXPRESS LORD'S UNLIMITED LOVE FOR ALL

VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II presided a Mass this morning in the Main Hall of Cairo's Sports Palace in the presence of an estimated 18,000 faithful from each of the ecclesial communities belonging to the Coptic, Latin, Maronite, Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Chaldean rites. The Roman-rite Mass was celebrated in French and each of the concelebrants wore the vestments of their own rite.

In his homily in French, the Pope spoke of today's Gospel which recalls the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, where they remained until "Jesus ... was called out of Egypt by the Father to fulfill in Jerusalem the Passover of the new and irrevocable covenant."

He also highlighted the Lord's covenant with Moses and His people on Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments: "If we accept wholeheartedly the Ten Commandments, we will live fully by the law which God has placed in our hearts and we will have a share in the salvation which was revealed by the Covenant made on Mount Sinai between God and His people, and which the Son of God, through His work of redemption, offers to us."

"In this land of Egypt," observed the Holy Father, "the message of the new Covenant has been transmitted from generation to generation through the venerable Coptic Church, heir to the apostolic preaching and activity of the Evangelist Saint Mark who, according to tradition, suffered martyrdom in Alexandria."

The Pope greeted the patriarchs, bishops, priests, religious and faithful taking part in today's liturgy and affirmed: "Your presence here around the Successor of Peter is a sign of the unity of the Church of which Christ is the head. ... In this Jubilee Year ... we must seek ever more ardently to make resolute progress on the path of unity which He willed for His disciples, in a spirit of trust and fraternity." He had special words for all the Churches and ecclesial communities present, "which I greet here with respect."

John Paul II recalled, as his did upon his arrival in Cairo, the spiritual and intellectual life of the Church in Egypt, from "the illustrious founders of Christian monasticism" to "so many other patriarchs, confessors, thinkers and doctors who are the glory of the Universal Church."

Pointing to "the Lord's unlimited love for the world," he underscored that, "in her commitment to the Egyptian people in the areas of education, health and charitable works, the Church seeks to express this disinterested love which excludes no one." The Church's educational institutions, he emphasized, "also aim at fostering friendly relations with Muslims so that the members of each community may make sincere efforts to understand one another and promote together social justice, moral values, peace, respect and freedom."

The Holy Father stated that, in building society and consolidating peace, "it is right that everyone, Christians and Muslims, while respecting different religious views, should place their skills at the service of the nation, at every level of society."

He closed with a plea: "Let us today renew our acceptance of the divine law as a precious treasure! ... May everyone hear the call of the God of the Covenant and discover the joy of being His sons and daughters."

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