POPE HOPES TO VISIT CYPRUS AT A FUTURE DATE

VATICAN CITY, APR 3, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement released today that "the Holy Father received an invitation from the Cypriot authorities to go to Cyprus within the milieu of his Jubilee pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul the Apostle.

"John Paul II, with gratitude for the invitation, hopes to be able to realize this visit one day.

"The current state of preparations for the Holy Father's upcoming visit to Greece, Syria, and Malta is such that it is technically impossible to also include a stop in Cyprus."

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