Pope John Paul II has arrived in Malta on the last leg of a pilgrimage, which included visits to Greece and Syria. Before leaving Syria, the Pontiff made a plea for Jews and Arabs to work for a just peace. The Pope called for the people of the Middle East to overcome their hostility and divisions. At a farewell ceremony for the Pontiff at Damascus airport, the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hit back at Israeli and American critics who had accused him of being anti-Semitic. The Syrian leader said that those people were adopting double standards.
In Malta, the Holy See will preside at a beatification ceremony for two Maltese priests and a nun who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Syrian visit has been criticised by Israel, which has accused Syria of using it to promote anti-Israeli propaganda.
