May
11
Pope Benedict XVI begins the second and most difficult leg of his visit to the Middle East today. His appearance in the Holy Land will require a diplomatic high-wire act. “I come as a pilgrim of peace”, the Pope said before departing for the area.
After visiting Jordan, Pope Benedict XVI flies to Tel Aviv on Monday where he will be met by Israeli President Shimon Peres. The Pope’s busy schedule includes a visit to Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Old City of Jerusalem and the Holocaust museum Yad Vashem.
By visiting Israel and the Palestinian areas, the Pope is entering a religious and political minefield. Between his controversial remarks on Islam and his reinstatement of Holocaust denier Richard Williamson, the Pope will have to put his best foot forward if he wants to end his visit successfully.
“The political situation as well as the church’s situation is anything but easy in the Middle East,” says German Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews. “A balance will have to found between the Jews on the one hand, and with the Christians, who for the most part live in the Palestinian territories, on the other.”
No false compromises
The Roman Catholic Church officially advocates a ‘two-state solution’ for the conflict between Israel and Palestine. “But that does not seem so important to the Israeli Government at the moment. The diplomatic high-wire act will therefore be not to accept any false compromises,” says Cardinal Kasper.
After his visit to Bethlehem, the Pope will be shown a Palestinian refugee camp built in the shadow of the Separation Wall between Israel and the West Bank. “We affirm the state of Israel, and our relationship with the Jews has improved enormously,” according to Cardinal Kasper who is travelling with the Pope. “On the other hand we must do justice to the Palestinian Christians, who do not have an easy life in the occupied territories.”
New friendship
Full diplomatic ties between Israel and the Vatican have only existed since 1994. Also, it has only been 45 years since the Second Vatican Council exonerated the Jewish people of blame for the killing of Christ. Since then, relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish religion have improved little. Many Israelis are still angry with the Vatican that the church did not take a clear stand during World War II.
The relationship between the Jewish faith and the Roman Catholic Church reached an all-time low some of months ago when Pope Benedict reinstated four ultra-conservative Bishops. One of them, Richard Williamson, is a staunch denier of the Holocaust.
Makeover
The past few months have seen much effort in making Jerusalem – especially Arab East Jerusalem – presentable for the Pope. A number of streets in this rundown area have been newly paved, and the neighbourhood where the Pope will be staying during his visit has been given a makeover.
Improvements have also been made to the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In Nazareth, the final touches are being put to the large podium where the Pope will conduct an outdoor Mass.
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