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Pope Francis walks steadily and unperturbed through the same political minefields that European officials have been trying to circumvent for decades. The journey begins this Thursday in Cyprus. This eastern Mediterranean island, whose country has been a member of the EU since 2004, has been split in two for more than 45 years by an

unresolved conflict between the communities of Turkish and Greek origin

that inhabit it. The Supreme Pontiff landed there in the middle of the afternoon, whom the pandemic did not allow to be received with crowds.

"Tomorrow I will go to Cyprus and Greece to visit the beloved populations of those countries rich in history, spirituality and civilization. It will be a trip to the sources of the apostolic faith and of brotherhood between Christians of various confessions. Accompany me with your prayers!" , urged Pope Francis through Twitter on Wednesday, the day he entrusted himself to the Virgin, for the success of this trip, in the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

There are few places like Cyprus in the world where to put into practice three of the spears of Jorge Mario Bergoglio's papacy: the fervent struggle for peace, the defense of the oppressed, especially immigrants, and the commitment to dialogue. interfaith. There

the Catholic is a smaller church compared to the Orthodox.

However, the Maronite confession, of Levantine origin, has an important representation in the enclave since the Middle Ages. Upon arrival, he will meet with his priests, catechists and faithful.

The Pope will spend the rest of his first day meeting with Cypriot political leaders. However, it will do so only with the recognized, Greek Cypriots.

Francisco will not cross to the north of the Green Line, the demilitarized zone that splits the island in two.

From the other side, Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - only recognized by Turkey - invited Bergoglio "with my sincerest sentiments" to a visit, although, in his statement, he

regretted having been " discriminated against "on the trip.

The Holy Father had made his priorities clear for this tour during the Angelus prayer last Sunday.

"How many immigrants are exposed to serious dangers these days and how many lose their lives at the borders?" He

asked believers at the Vatican, shortly after describing the Mediterranean as "a great cemetery." Cyprus, a few hundred nautical miles from Syria, Lebanon or Turkey, knows well the drama of immigration.

For the Supreme Pontiff, his visit, which will culminate this Sunday on the Greek island of Lesbos - turned into a kind of purgatory for those trying to find asylum in the EU - is an

"opportunity to get closer to a wounded humanity."

His first opportunity will be on Friday at the Parish Church of the Holy Cross, located on the same Green Line and, therefore, placed under the protection of the Vatican. There, after the Holy Mass celebrated in the Nicosia Stadium, he will lead an ecumenical prayer with immigrants.

The second part of the trip will take the Pope to Greece. On Saturday he will leave Cyprus for Athens, where he will be received by the highest Hellenic authorities. As he will have done on Cypriot soil, in Greece he will meet with His Beatitude

Jerome II, Archbishop of Athens,

and all of Greece in the Orthodox archbishopric. "It will be a trip to the springs of apostolic faith and brotherhood among Christians of various denominations," Francis had recalled in the run-up to his visit.

Finally, Sunday will be the day that Francisco will

return to the place where thousands of fled from wars and famine, many of them Muslims, received him enthusiastically in 2016.

This time, Bergoglio will land on an island more musty than before, marked due to the tension between the local population and the immigrant, all jaded after years without political solutions for the saturation situation that exists in their refugee camps.

This time, the Pope's passage will be shorter than then.

He will meet the refugees at the Reception and Identification Center in Mytilene, the capital, where a new generation applicants center, financed with European funds, is being finalized.

The controversy involves similar centers previously opened on other Greek islands, due to their similarity to a prison.

It is expected that, during his trip, the Pope will make the same gesture of taking one or more immigrant families to Rome.

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