VATICAN CITY, MAR 14 (ZENIT.org).- The careful political arrangements surrounding the papal visit to the Holy Land have brought about another small change to the itinerary. The Holy Father was already scheduled to visit the site at Wadi Kharrar, in Jordan, where it appears the Baptism of Jesus took place. However, yesterday Israeli officials announced that he would also visit the traditional site, which is in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
This second commemoration of Christ's Baptism has been termed a private visit - there will be no television cameras, and the Pope will only spend about 15 minutes at the site on March 22, before being flown to Bethlehem.
At the Vatican last month, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat urged the Pope extend his visit in Palestinian-ruled areas to include Jericho and its adjacent baptismal site. However, the baptismal site remains under Israeli control, and it is unclear whether there will be any official Palestinian presence there. There is no plan for the pope to go to Jericho itself.
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