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Meeting with Syrian leader
Pope breaks from Lenten retreat
Pope John Paul II on February 21 met with Syrian President Bashar el Assad, who was in Italy to encourage the European Union to play a more active role in the Middle East peace process.

The Holy Father took the unusual step of interrupting his annual Lenten retreat for his brief conversation with Assad, which an official Vatican statement described as “cordial.” The statement indicated that the conversation had revolved around “ways to restore peace to the Middle East, especially the Holy Land, on the basis of the well-known UN resolutions.”

The Syrian president had traveled to Rome with his wife and infant son, as well as a large entourage of about 160 people, many of whom were security officers. But he met alone with the Pope for a 10-minute conversation. Before that private meeting, the two exchanged formal greetings, with Assad thanking the Pope for his visit to Syria last May.

During that papal visit, Assad had embarrassed the Pontiff by lashing out at the Israeli government during his welcoming remarks. The Syrian president made no such diplomatic gaffe during this trip to the Vatican—although in remarks to the Italian press the day before the meeting, he had harshly criticized both Israel and the United States. Israel’s ambassador to Italy, Ehud Gol, returned that criticism in his own remarks, saying that Assad is “the head of an inhuman regime,” and criticizing the Pope for meeting with him. Gol said that Syria should be ostracized for its “terrorism, anti-Semitism, and violations of human rights.”