Greeks protest over Pope's visit

VATICAN CITY -- More than 1,000 conservative Orthodox Christians have staged a protest against this week's landmark visit by Pope John Paul II to Greece.

Scores of nuns and monks were among the crowd outside the Athens Metropolis cathedral in the largest protest so far at Pope John Paul II's two-day trip to Athens beginning on May 4.

The trip has angered many conservatives in the Greek church, who blame the papacy for the Great Schism of 1054 that divided Christianity into eastern and western branches.

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Greece's Orthodox church has lifted its objections to the visit, but insisted the pontiff is strictly on a pilgrimage following the footsteps of St. Paul 2,000 years ago.

But Pope John Paul II is hoping his trip, which also takes in Syria and Malta, will ease troubled relations with both Orthodox Christians and Muslims.

The Pope said: "May it offer a happy occasion to increase understanding with the Orthodox brothers, favouring a further advancement on the path towards the full unity of Christians."

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, spokesman for the Vatican, confirmed that the focus of the Greek visit was the unity of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and not the problems that underpin their ongoing division, said the Associated Press.

"Ten centuries of few contacts and much misunderstanding," Navarro-Valls said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday in Greece. "It is now the moment to take advantage and focus on what unites us."

Referring to his planned trip to a mosque in Syria, the Pope said he hopes the visit will strengthen dialogue with Muslims and promote a "fruitful and peaceful cohabitation," the Associated Press reported.

Syria's 17 million people include two million Christians, and the papal tour is expected to highlight the mix of cultures and rich history there.

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