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Pope John Paul II, greeted by thousands of chanting,...

By PEGGY POLK

LOME, Togo -- Pope John Paul II, greeted by thousands of chanting, drum-playing Togolese, began his third visit to Africa Thursday by praising African Catholics' cultural traditions and saluting those who still worship voodoo spirits.

The pontiff, starting a 12-day tour of six black African nations and the Moslem kingdom of Morocco, knelt to kiss the ground in his traditional gesture of respect as he stepped off his Alitalia jet.

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'Viva, peace and solidarity,' shouted some 5,000 French-speaking Togolese, many of them wearing indigo or mustard-colored dresses or pajama suits printed with pictures of John Paul.

As the pontiff moved down a reception line at the airport filled with tribal chiefs wearing cloth crowns adorned with medals, half moons and stars, a chorus sang in the Mina language 'Enyo, enyo,' -- 'It is good. It is good. All that God has made is good.'

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On the 5 -hour flight from Rome to Lome, John Paul ruled out a visit to South Africa, telling reporters 'it is not the time now' to visit the country wracked by racial protests against the white-minority government's segregation policy known as apartheid.

'Apartheid is a huge problem,' the pope said. 'Apartheid is an ethical problem regarding human rights above all. Apartheid is a specific problem.'

But, he said, 'I think that it exists in other aspects in so many countries of the world.'

Protestant President Gen. Gnasingbe Eyadema, head of state since he led a military coup in 1967, warmly welcomed the Polish-born pope.

'In this world that is searching for itself, the Holy Father stands as a symbol of hope for the oppressed and the disinherited,' Eyadema said.

During a brief speech at the airport welcoming ceremony, John Paul said that during his trip he would meet Catholics, Protestants and representatives of the Moslem faith, the strongest religion in many regions of Africa.

'I will also meet a large number of people who express their religious sentiments in the framework of traditional religions,' the pope said. 'I salute them with all my heart.'

The traditional religions the pope referred to include animist beliefs, including the practice of 'juju' or voodoo, asit is known elsewhere. Togo has long been a voodoo stronghold.

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An estimated 100,000 people lined the 6-mile route between the airport and a large square in central Lome where John Paul celebrated an outdoor mass in hot, breezy, overcast weather. About 30,000 people, including Catholics from nearby Ghana, Benin and Nigeria, attended the mass, which John Paul ended in Ewe, a local language.

Standing at times 15-deep, the crowd sang, chanted and swayed to the music of brass brands and traditional drums as the pope drove by waving from his white, bullet-proof 'popemobile.' Vendors hawked cold drinks and nuts from trays set atop their heads.

During the mass, John Paul praised the unique tribal and cultural customs that characterize much of the liturgy of the Catholic Church in black Africa -- and make it nearly unrecognizable to the European or American Catholic.

During the visit, his 27th outside Italy since becoming pope in 1978, John Paul will tour Togo, Ivory Coast and Cameroon in West Africa, then head inland to the Central African Republic, south to Zaire and east to Kenya before a five-hour stopover in Casablanca, Morocco, on the way home Aug. 19.

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