VATICAN (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the head of the Vatican committee coordinating the Jubilee celebration, has warned against a tendency to see the visit by Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land exclusively in political terms-- and, in particular, in terms of Christian-Jewish relations.
Cardinal Etchegaray stressed that the Pope's plan was to make a spiritual pilgrimage. He pointed out that the trip had been scheduled to coincide with the feast of the Annunciation-- March 25-- because the Holy Father had been particularly anxious to celebrate that feast in Nazareth.
While conceding that the Pope's meeting with Jewish leaders and his visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem would be "particularly impressive," he emphasized that the highlights of the trip would be the visits to the sites connected with the history of salvation. As for the political affairs of the region, the cardinal warned that "those who expect John Paul II to become involved in the details of the peace process are deceiving themselves."
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update