NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Athens, where Pope John Paul begins a three-nation pilgrimage tomorrow following the journeys of St. Paul the Apostle. It will be the first visit to Greece by a pope since the Great Schism that split Christianity into eastern and western branches in the year 1054. The population of Greece is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. A spokesman says the Greek Orthodox Church wants the pope to make what he called a humble and bold gesture of love to help heal the deep distrust between the Orthodox world and Roman Catholic world. After Greece, the pontiff will visit Syria and Malta.
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