Vatican nuncio: Pope to meet with Israel's grand mufti, chief rabbis

By Judith Sudilovsky
Catholic News Service

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will meet with interreligious leaders, including the grand mufti of Jerusalem and the chief rabbis of Israel, when he visits the Holy Land.

During the pope's May 8-15 visit, he also will meet with the Greek Orthodox, Latin and Armenian Catholic patriarchs in Jerusalem in addition to other Christian leaders, said Archbishop Antonio Franco, the pope's representative to Israel and the Palestinian territories, at a March 10 press conference.

The preliminary schedule calls for the pope to arrive in Amman, Jordan, May 8 and proceed to Israel May 11, presiding over events in Jerusalem and Nazareth and in Bethlehem, West Bank. Archbishop Franco said the journey would replicate Pope John Paul II's 2000 visit.

Archbishop Franco said Pope Benedict will be in Jerusalem May 11, 12 and 15. During those days, the pope will meet the grand mufti at the Dome of the Rock, which protects an exposed rock revered for many reasons: as the "rock of foundation" from which the creation of the world began, as the site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and, by Muslims, as the place from which Mohammed ascended to heaven.

The pope will meet Israel's chief rabbis at the ceremonial Hechal Shlomo building. He will have a moment of prayer at the Western Wall, the most sacred place in Judaism, and there will be an "official prayer and homage" at the memorial hall of Yad Vashem. He also will celebrate a Mass in Jerusalem.

Archbishop Franco said Pope Benedict also will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem, but he did not give specific dates.

The pope will visit Bethlehem May 13 and celebrate Mass there. Archbishop Franco said arrangements were being made to allow Palestinian Christians to attend all the Masses. He also said a delegation of two busloads of Catholics from the Gaza Strip will be permitted to attend the Bethlehem Mass.

The following day Pope Benedict will travel to Nazareth and celebrate Mass near Mount Precipice. Church officials said they expect 40,000 to 50,000 local Christians to attend the Nazareth Mass.

Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Nazareth said Catholic leaders were working to prepare the local Catholic community for the pope's visit through their schools, institutions and apostolic movements. The Israeli Ministry of Education has approved a budget for 250 lessons in private schools, concentrating on the pope's pilgrimage, he said.

Also at the press conference, Maronite Archbishop Paul Nabil Sayah of Haifa said the pope wants to send the message that the "Christian presence in this part of the world and the Holy Land in particular is of vital importance to the Holy Father as a witness" to the universal church.

END
HOLYLAND-DETAILS Mar-11-2009 (450 words) xxxi
source : www.catholicnews.com