The Jerusalem Report - Pilgrimage into the Lions' Den
The Jerusalem Report - Pilgrimage into the Lions' Den
The Jerusalem Post
     

Pilgrimage
Pope into the Lions' Den
By Yossi Klein Halevi
No one in the last 2,000 years has done more to reconcile Christians and Jews than Pope John Paul II. Now, at the culmination of his papacy, he is making a millennial pilgrimage to the Holy Land - to personally symbolize his commitment to peace among all faiths. But political rivalries, historical grudges and religious bickering are conspiring to reduce a historic mission to just another excuse for narrow and bitter dispute.

Selections from the cover story of the current Jerusalem Report:
The Man
A New Era?
A Controversial Visit

A GRADUAL RECONCILIATION
Selections from the archives of The Jerusalem Report

Eminent Embrace
Thirty years ago, when he visited the Holy Land, Pope Paul VI refused
to accept any vestige of Israeli statehood

The Church Repents
While world attention is focused on Bethlehem's first Christmas under Palestinian control, another Jewish-Christian drama is taking place: the wholesale reevaluation of relations between ancient religious enemies

The Pope's Jewish Son
The bizarre tale of a Jewish boy abducted by the Church in 19th-century Italy

The Truth about Pope Pius XII
An Israeli historian, named in late November to serve on a joint Roman Catholic-Jewish panel to review the Vatican's World War II record, hopes it will finally resolve the dispute about the role of Pope Pius XII, currently a candidate for sainthood, who has been accused by Jewish and other critics of facilitating the Holocaust.

   
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
The Papal Apology

The Church and the Faults of the Past

The Basic Agreement Between the Vatican and the PLO

We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah

THE PAPAL SCHEDULE
Tuesday evening, March 21: Arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport from Amman; greetings from President Ezer Weizman and Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Wednesday, March 22: A day in Bethlehem, including mass in Manger Square; a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and a tour of Deheishah refugee camp.

Thursday, March 23: A day in Jerusalem, including mass in the chapel of the Last Supper on Mt. Zion; meetings with Weizman and the chief rabbis; an interfaith gathering at the Vatican's Notre Dame complex; and a 40-minute visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

Friday, March 24: Mass at the Mount of Beatitudes and visits to other Galilee holy sites; and a meeting with Barak.

Saturday, March 25: Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth; an inter-denominational meeting with Christian leaders in Jerusalem.

Sunday, March 26: Visits to the Western Wall, Temple Mount, and the chief rabbinate HQ in West Jerusalem; mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; departure from Ben-Gurion.

RELATED LINKS
Vatican:
www.vatican.va

Israel's Foreign Ministry:
www.israel-mfa.gov.il

Catholic Information Center:
www.catholic.net

Anti-Defamation League:
www.adl.org

Jubilee 2000:
www.greatjubilee2000.org

Jerusalem Municipality:
www.jerusalem.muni.il

Palestinian National Authority:
www.pna.net