Pope John Paul II strongly defended the "legitimate aspirations" of American Indians as he reached out to indigenous communities from Alaska to South America on a historic visit to Mexico.
During a 24-hour stopover before flying Thursday to Denver, the pontiff pledged the support of the Roman Catholic Church for indigenous peoples who have been "uprooted from their places of origin" and stripped of their land.The pontiff made his remarks Wednesday atop the ruins of a Mayan pyramid in the Yucatan town of Izamal, in what may be a preview of some concerns he would convey later Thursday in talks with President Clinton in Denver.
The pope was to be welcomed at the airport by Clinton and head afterward to Regis University for their talks.
The pope visits Denver for the church's World Youth Day. He is scheduled to leave for Rome on Sunday.
His historic visit to Mexico was the first by the pontiff since this country restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican after a 130-year break.
The pope's main event in Izamal, an ancient Mayan crossroads located 50 miles west of Merida, was a delayed celebration of the 500th anniversary, in 1992, of Roman Catholic evangelism in the New World.
Meeting with 3,000 representatives of 500 Indian cultures at a Franciscan monastery built atop the pyramid to the Mayan sun god, the pope moved the crowd by speaking in Spanish and a few words of Mayan.
In another moving moment, he paid "emotional remembrance" to Guadalajara Archbishop Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who was slain in May in what officials say was a gunbattle among drug dealers at the Guadalajara airport.
A source close to Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari said the pope signaled that the Vatican accepts the government's view that the archbishop was caught accidentally in a crossfire.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the pope told several Mexican bishops the killing was a "lamentable accident," but the issue was not further addressed in talks with Salinas.
He capped his visit Wednesday night with a feast with Mexican bishops at a local seminary.
During his visit here, John Paul seemed to be preparing for his U.S. mission as he called on advanced societies to focus less on enriching themselves and more on the problems afflicting the developing world.
The pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro, said John Paul would probably challenge the American president to take a "leadership role" in the world on issues of social justice.
Navarro declined to specify whether John Paul would raise the issue of abortion with Clinton, saying there was no set agenda for their 45-minute private session at Regis University, a Jesuit college.
The pope speaks out frequently against abortion, while the Democratic president has championed abortion rights.
After talks with Clinton, the pope will travel by car to Denver's Mile High Stadium to address Roman Catholic youth at the World Youth Day meeting.