Millions Bid Farewell to Pope at Funeral

... President Kufuor pays last respects
President Kufuor joined four kings, five queens, over 70 presidents and prime ministers and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and religious leaders in St. Peter's Square on Friday to bid farewell to Pope John Paul II at a funeral service that drew millions to Rome for one of the largest religious gatherings of modern times.

Kufuor is the first Ghanaian head of state to attend a papal funeral.

Kufuor was close to the front of the section reserved for world leaders, who were seated in alphabetical order ? in French.

Seated by President Jacques Chirac of France, President Kufuor a practising Catholic looked pensive and reflective as he observed proceedings nestled amongst global dignitaries and luminaries. Also at the funeral was the First Lady Mrs. Theresa Kufuor.

The President is expected back home Sunday.

Members of the president's delegation is not yet available.

World leaders rub shoulders at Pope's funeral Mass

A remarkable collection of world leaders and royalty rubbed shoulders today at John Paul?s funeral, with only an alphabetical seating plan to divide heads of state whose relations could be frosty or even non-existent.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was just two places away from Britian's Prince Charles. Mugabe side-stepped a EU travel ban ? which does not apply to the Vatican - to attend the funeral.

President George Bush and French President Jacques Chirac ? divided over the US-led war in Iraq ? were separated only by their wives as they sat in the second row to the right of the altar in front of St Peter?s Basilica.

When Bush?s face appeared on giant screens showing the ceremony, many in the crowds outside St Peter?s Square booed and whistled.

Farther down the same row was Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who greeted Syrian President Bashar Assad before taking his seat. Washington has tense relations with Syria and none with Iran.

More than 100 official delegations attended the funeral, one of the largest religious gatherings of modern times. The seating plan was drawn up using French, the traditional language of diplomacy.

Just making it onto the front row was King Juan Carlos of Spain ? Espagne - ahead of the president of the United States ? Etas-Unis ? in the second.

Before the service, leaders filed out from between the crimson curtains framing the giant bronze doors of St Peter?s. They shook hands with a prelate, paused to exchange greetings, then took their seats.

The gathering made for a rare display of religious plurality: scarlet-robbed Roman Catholic cardinals, black-clad Orthodox clerics, Arab head scarves, Jewish skull caps, Central Asian lambskin hats, and black veils worn by some women.

Chirac leaned over earnestly to make a comment to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who appeared to listen attentively. Khatami, dressed in a black turban and round tinted glasses, kissed Assad on both cheeks.
Bush was one of the last to file out of the Basilica to take his place, walking with his wife Laura and ahead of his father, former President George Bush, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The funeral had already sparked diplomatic tensions. China refused to send a delegation to the funeral because of the Vatican?s diplomatic relations with rival Taiwan, whose president, Chen Shui-bian, took advantage of a rare chance to meet other leaders at an international event.