Pope John Paul II was today heading for Malta - a bastion of his own church - to close a journey that challenged the stamina of the frail pontiff amid momentous gestures for religious reconciliation with others.

Pope John Paul II offered a prayer for peace today in the rubble of a town Syrians claim was destroyed by Israel.

The Middle East political passions and religious drama stirred up by Pope John Paul II’s visit to Syria have often seemed to obscure what he has stressed is the reason for his pilgrimage.

The Pope has arrived in Greece for a personal pilgrimage.

The pope arrived in Greece today for a personal pilgrimage with much wider implications: trying to heal nearly 1,000 years of discord between the Vatican and Orthodox churches.