Many of the faithful had waited for hours in a blazing sun for the pontiff to arrive at a horse-racing track on the outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of this Roman Catholic stronghold.

"He [THE POPE] also praised the late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, whom Catholic Croats regard as a hero for his anti-communism but whom many Serbs condemn as a Nazi sympathizer."

"During an evening prayer service in the Zagreb cathedral, he [THE POPE] said Stepinac was "always vigilant as a true pastor of his flock." Stepinac, once archbishop of Zagreb, was an early supporter of Croatia's Nazi puppet regime that took power in 1941. That regime was responsible for the extermination of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews."

AP 11 Sep 94 15:05 EDT V0087

The Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- A frail but determined Pope John Paul II pushed ahead Sunday on his pilgrimage of reconciliation to the former Yugoslavia, urging Croatians to make peace with Muslims and Serbs. A crowd of at least 800,000 people turned out for an open-air Mass at a race track in Zagreb, capital of predominantly Roman Catholic Croatia, and the only stop on what the pope had planned as a wider tour to help heal the wounds of three years of bloodshed in former Yugoslavia.

But he repeated a promise to visit Sarajevo, a trip he hoped to make last Thursday, "as soon as circumstances allow." The pope spoke briefly with Sarajevo Archbishop Vinko Puljic at Zagreb airport Sunday evening before boarding the jetliner that returned him to Rome. Walking with a cane since breaking his leg in a fall in April, the 74-year-old pontiff appeared haggard during a morning meeting with President Franjo Tudjman and the three-hour Mass that followed.

"He's in good spirits, but his leg is bothering him," said the Rev. Roberto Tucci, chief organizer of papal trips. John Paul used an elevator to reach the altar, avoiding the 27 stairs the other celebrants climbed. State television said nearly 1 million faithful were on hand for the Mass held under a blazing sun, though organizers said the figure was closer to 800,000. About 3,000 of them were handicapped, most of them young men who had lost limbs or been seriously wounded during Croatia's 1991 civil war.

The pope began his trip on Saturday with remarks that bolstered the national pride of Croatians, still chafing at the loss of one-third of their territory to Serbs during that war. But on Sunday the pope spoke of the need for reconciliation between Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, locked in war in neighboring Bosnia.

He rejected the idea that religion was linked to the "nationalistic intolerance which is raging in this region." "The present tragic division and tensions must not make us forget that there are many elements today that unite the people at war," he said of the south Slavs, or former Yugoslavs, who speak virtually the same language. "Peace in the Balkans -- I emphasize strongly in this time of suffering -- is not a Utopia. Rather it is necessary from the point of view of historic realism," the pope said. "Has not history created thousands of indestructible ties between your peoples?" he said in his homily at the Mass, broadcast live in Croatia, and accessible to viewers in some parts of Bosnia and rump Yugoslavia.

He urged the church in Croatia and all Croatians "to promote reciprocal forgiveness and reconciliation." Nearly 70 percent of Croatia's 4.5 million people are Roman Catholic.

On Saturday, the pope praised the late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who is condemned by many Serbs as a Nazi sympathizer. Croatia's Nazi puppet regime was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews.

The war's grim reality was brought home with news of a grenade attack early Sunday on the European Union's administrator in the Bosnian town of Mostar, which is divided between Croats and Muslims. Hans Koschnick was not hurt, but his residence in a hotel was heavily damaged. It was not immediately clear who was responsible, but one police official said fire could only have come from the western, or Croat-held, side of Mostar.

In Zagreb, John Paul was only 60 miles from recent fighting in northwestern Bosnia. Initially he had sought to visit Belgrade, capital of Serbia, and Sarajevo, the besieged Bosnian capital, as well as Zagreb. But Belgrade was ruled out because of what Vatican officials said was resistance from the Orthodox Church, and Sarajevo was scrubbed at the last minute for security reasons. Addressing himself to Bosnian refugees during the Mass, the pope said it was with "deep pain" that he called off the visit to Sarajevo and emphasized that "they must not feel alone."

Despite an invitation to Croatian Orthodox leaders, only a retired Orthodox priest showed up at the Mass, local organizers said. Muslim, Protestant and Jewish representatives attended. Ahead on the pope's travel schedule is a trip to the United States on Oct. 20 and a tour of four Asian countries in January.

AP 11 Sep 94 7:59 EDT V0991

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Addressing nearly one million faithful, Pope John Paul II said Sunday that Christians and Muslims must work together for peace in war-torn former Yugoslavia.

Still looking haggard and leaning on his cane, the 74-year-old pontiff had started the day by urging his Croatian hosts to seek reconciliation with their neighbors. Just hours before he spoke at an outdoor Mass, a grenade slammed into a Mostar hotel used as a base by a German official coordinating the European's Union efforts to rebuild the crippled town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is divided between Croats and Muslims. Hans oschnick, a former mayor of Bremen, was not hurt.

Many of the faithful had waited for hours in a blazing sun for the pontiff to arrive at a horse-racing track on the outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of this Roman Catholic stronghold. Several of the faithful fainted during the Mass. "No, it is not lawful to attribute to religion the phenomenon of nationalistic intolerance which is raging in this region," the pontiff said, speaking from a huge raised altar at the edge of the track.

He addressed his peace appeal to Christians and other believers "in particular the Muslims, who are visibly and well established in the Balkans."

War in the former Yugoslav federation has involved Roman Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs and Muslims from Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Progress and the good of the Balkan nations have only one name: peace," the pontiff said, delivering his homily in Croatian.

Many of those in the crowd, estimated by state television at nearly one million, held tiny yellow-and-white Vatican flags, along with the red-white-and-blue Croatian flags. The pontiff started the day by meeting with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in a modern palace built by the late Yugoslav Communist leader, Josip Broz Tito.

"I wanted to remind you of the support the Croatian people constantly had from Rome, encouraging it to peaceful co-existence with neighboring nations," the pope told Tudjman. He added that he was "wishing peace from all my heart and wishing that you magnanimously try to reach reconciliation."

That process included "forgiving and seeking forgiveness," he said. Despite the tense standoff between Croats and Serbs three years after their civil war, Croats chafe at the loss of one-third of their land in the fighting and vow to get it back. Nearly 70 percent of Croatia's 4.5 million people are Catholics. John Paul was scheduled to fly back to Rome on Sunday afternoon.

AP 11 Sep 94 5:51 EDT V0965

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Pope John Paul II on Sunday urged his Croatian hosts to seek peace with their Serb neighbors, a day after making comments likely to infuriate rival Serbs.

The pontiff brought to Croatia the pleas for peace and reconciliation that he could not deliver in besieged Sarajevo. More than a half-million people waited for his Mass on Sunday at a horse racing track on the outskirts of Zagreb. Accompanied by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, the pope walked slowly into a modern palace built by the late Yugoslav Communist leader, Josip Broz Tito.

He said he was "wishing that you magnanimously try to reach reconciliation" and that the process includes "forgiving and seeking forgiveness." Croats chafe at the loss of one-third of their land in the civil war against the Serbs three years ago, and many vow to get it back. The pope began his two-day visit Saturday, calling Sarajevo "a martyred town, which I as a pilgrim of peace and hope wanted fervently to visit."

He made pointed comments likely to anger the nationalist Serbs, who surround the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo and whose intransigence led in part to cancellation of the pope's trip there.

John Paul specifically mentioned the Croatian towns of Vukovar, Dubrovnik and Zadar. Serbs attacked the towns in 1991 when they seized one-third of Croatia after it seceded from Yugoslavia.

He also praised the late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, regarded by Catholic Croats as a hero for his anti-communism but condemned by many Serbs as a Nazi sympathizer.

AP 11 Sep 94 3:58 EDT V0952 The Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Pope John Paul II on Sunday urged his Croatian hosts to seek peace with their neighbors, a day after making comments likely to infuriate rival Serbs.

The pontiff, looking drawn and leaning on a cane for the second day, was bringing to Croatia the pleas for peace and reconciliation that he could not deliver in besieged Sarajevo. More than a half-million people waited for his Mass at a horse racing track on the outskirts of Zagreb. Accompanied by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, the pontiff walked slowly into a modern palace built by the late Yugoslav Communist leader, Josip Broz Tito. "I wanted to remind you of the support the Croatian people constantly had from Rome, encouraging it to peaceful co-existence with neighboring nations," the pope told Tudjman.

He added that he was "wishing peace from all my heart and wishing that you magnanimously try to reach reconciliation," and said that process included "forgiving and seeking forgiveness." Despite the tense standoff between Croats and Serbs three years after their civil war, Croats chafe at the loss of one-third of their land in the fighting and many vow to get it back.

During their meeting Sunday, Tudjman thanked the Roman Catholic leader for early support for Croatian independence. The pope also posed for group pictures with Tudjman's family. Later the 74-year-old pontiff was heading to the race track, where police were conducting thorough searches of the faithful, as part of extra-tight security in place throughout the Croatian capital. The pope began his two-day visit Saturday with emotional comments on Sarajevo, calling it "a martyred town, which I as a pilgrim of peace and hope wanted fervently to visit." "How much innocent blood has flowed, how many tears have streaked the faces of mothers, children, young men and elderly people," he said of the fighting in Bosnia.

The pope also made pointed comments likely to anger the nationalist Serbs, whose intransigence in part prompted the cancellation of the Sarajevo trip. During airport welcoming ceremonies, John Paul specifically mentioned the Croatian towns of Vukovar, Dubrovnik and Zadar. Serbs attacked the towns in 1991 when they seized one-third of Croatia after it seceded from Yugoslavia.

He also praised the late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, whom Catholic Croats regard as a hero for his anti-communism but whom many Serbs condemn as a Nazi sympathizer. Stepinac, once archbishop of Zagreb, was an early supporter of Croatia's Nazi puppet regime that took power in 1941.

Though as early as 1942 Stepinac denounced the regime's genocidal policies that sent hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews to death, many Serbs still regard him as a war criminal. Croatia is nearly 70 percent Catholic.

AP 10 Sep 94 18:10 EDT V0779

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) Pope John Paul II, looking frail and leaning on a cane, began his first trip to former Yugoslavia on Saturday with remarks likely to infuriate nationalist Serbs.

After an evening service in Zagreb cathedral, the pontiff steadied himself by placing his hand on the altar and was helped down several small steps by Zagreb's archbishop, Cardinal Franjo Kuharic. The 74-year-old pontiff broke his leg in a fall in April, and now relies heavily on a cane. His left hand noticeably shook on Saturday. Calling himself a "defenseless pilgrim of the Gospel," the pope arrived in this Roman Catholic stronghold just days after canceling the trip he had hoped to make to Sarajevo, the capital of war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina.

For the first time on any of his 62 foreign trips, the pope failed to kiss the ground after hobbling down from his Alitalia jetliner. Instead, he kissed Croatian soil held up to him in a bowl. Croatians, nearly 70 percent of whom are Roman Catholic, are hoping for moral support in their conflict against the Serbs and will be looking for political symbolism at every turn of the pope's two-day stay.

John Paul did not disappoint them.

During airport welcoming ceremonies, the pope praised the late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who is condemned as a Nazi sympathizer by many Serbs.

He also singled out the Croatian towns of Vukovar, Dubrovnik and Zadar, which came under attack from Serbian forces. Croatia is still chafing at the loss of one-third of its territory to Serbs during its civil war in 1991, and wants the pontiff's visit to focus attention on the country's plight.

He also spoke emotionally of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital besieged by Bosnian Serbs. He called it "a martyred town, which I as a pilgrim of peace and hope wanted fervently to visit." The pope called off a planned trip to Sarajevo because of fighting. Bosnian Serb leaders opposed the visit, and said they could not guarantee his safety. "How much innocent blood has flowed, how many tears have streaked the faces of mothers, children, young men and elderly people," he said.

During an evening prayer service in the Zagreb cathedral, he said Stepinac was "always vigilant as a true pastor of his flock."

Stepinac, once archbishop of Zagreb, was an early supporter of Croatia's Nazi puppet regime that took power in 1941.

That regime was responsible for the extermination of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews. Though Stepinac began denouncing the genocidal policies as early as 1942, many Serbs still regard him as a war criminal.

Several hundred priests and nuns applauded after the pope mentioned Stepinac's name.

He delivered his remarks in Croatian. The pontiff prayed for nearly a minute at the cardinal's tomb behind the main altar, and appeared to have difficulty getting up from the kneeler afterwards. John Paul went from the cathedral to Kuharic's residence to spend the night. In greeting the pope at the airport, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman condemned the "Serbian aggression" in Croatia.

"Holy Father, we still here in Croatia live in uncertain and hard times regarding problems in ending the war, return of refugees and restoration of homes and other places," Tudjman said. To underscore lingering dangers, the Croatian government sent up a pair of Soviet-made MiG-21 warplanes to escort the pontiff's jetliner to the Zagreb airport.

"We've all been waiting for this since the communist era," said 44-year-old Zagreb architect Darko Manestar. "We're very thankful to the pope because he officially recognized Croatia two days before the European Community did."

The recognition by the Vatican and the European Community, as the European Union was then known, was important to establish Croatia's full independence.

Tens of thousands of people lined the pope's 9-mile route into town from the airport. The pope plans to celebrate Mass before several hundred thousand people Sunday morning at a Zagreb horse racing track.