ST. CATHERINE, Egypt - Pope John Paul II prayed Saturday for religious tolerance in a simple tree-shaded garden under the peak revered as the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

The visit to Mount Sinai was the highlight of the Pope's trip to Egypt and the first major stop of his planned millennium travels to biblical sites. It drew strongly on the ancient religious legacy of the land. It also pointed out the contemporary obstacles to the pope's appeal for unity among Christians and with other faiths.

Doing as millions of pilgrims before him, the pope entered the 1,500-year-old Monastery of St. Catherine and prayed for 10 minutes before the thorny evergreen that the monks revere as the remnants of the burning bush that the Bible says was used by God to summon Moses and ask him to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. The pope softly spoke the words God told Moses: "I am who I am."

The pontiff also performed a traditional rite before the remains of St. Catherine of Alexandria, who converted to Christianity in the 4th century and was beheaded for directly accusing the Roman emperor of idolatry. The pope removed his ring and placed it over the finger bones and upon the skull before returning it to his own finger.

The pope, at the end of a three-day trip to Egypt, said he had finally joined the other pilgrims who have walked "in the footsteps of God." Next month, the pontiff is scheduled to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other places in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

He flew back to Cairo later Saturday and from there flew to Rome after being seen off by President Hosni Mubarak and religious leaders from Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The ailing, 79-year-old pope appeared to draw strength from the stark surroundings of sawtooth summits reaching above 6,600 feet and yellow-ochre outcrops sculpted smooth and round by the wind about 200 miles southeast of Cairo.

His spirits were high, even playful. Examining a gold bejeweled crown that was among the monastery's
treasures, he said: "You needed a hard head to wear that."

His voice grew strong and clear as he spoke to about 1,500 people about the need for understanding and dialogue "between the followers of the great monotheistic religions" - Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

"I pray that in the new millennium the Monastery of St. Catherine will be a radiant beacon calling the churches to know one another better and to rediscover the importance in the eyes of God of the things that unite us in Christ," the pope told the crowd.

But the head of the Greek Orthodox monastery, Archbishop Damianos, declined to pray alongside the pope because of ecclesiastical differences dating from the split of the Vatican and Orthodox churches nearly 1,000 years ago.

Damianos also insisted Roman Catholics must make the greater concessions - a significantly different
message than the strong calls for brotherhood from Muslim and Coptic Christian leaders during earlier
meetings in Cairo.

The Roman Catholic pope once exercised authority over all Christendom, and still claims to do so. At an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo Friday, the pope repeated an offer to discuss the Roman Catholic primacy, but did not elaborate on what powers he would be willing to relinquish.

The Orthodox reception was nonetheless gracious and stood in contrast to snubs of the pope by some Orthodox groups.

The pope also had hoped to bring Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders together at Mount Sinai, but the plan didn't materialize and Vatican officials haven't given an explanation. Bishop Makarios, an Egyptian Catholic, said the pope is first seeking "to prepare the minds" - implying that the climate wasn't right.

Among those gathered outside the monastery were many refugees from religious tension in neighboring Sudan. Christian and animist rebels in southern Sudan have been fighting since 1983 for autonomy from the Arab, Muslim-dominated government in the north.

"It's good the pope speaks about religious tolerance, but as you can see I'm far from my home because some people do not listen to this message," said Natale Ali, 37, who fled the southern Sudanese town of Wau in 1998.

Mitch Battros
Producer - Earth Changes TV
http://www.earthchangesTV.com