He thought Tyre an economically thriving but insufficiently holy place that should be reduced to nothing more than a fishing village with plenty of open space to "spread fish nets" to dry.
It is possible to get a certificate in other places to prove you have partaken in certain prayers or taken a holy dip - but this appears to be quite an unusual kind of document.
But the Pope's supporters will be hoping that by visiting Muslim holy sites - he was the first pontiff to go to the great compound of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem - he will have improved the overall tone of relations between the Catholic Church and some at least of Islam's believers.
Considering the blowback in the Russian press (in contrast to the Western press, where this remains a complete non-story) it seems possible, not likely but at least possible, that the Holy Trinity church will at least be given a bit of land on which it can build a new church.
Convincing both sides would be almost impossible but it would produce a definitive and lasting solution to the conflict over Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
The theme for the upcoming Thoughts on the Business of Life page in the Oct. 24 issue of FORBES is repentance, partially in honor of the Jewish holy days but also as a nod to the general somber mood the Western World seems to be in right now.