(CNS graphic/Emily Thompson)
VATICAN CITY — The Jordan Tourism Board and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism have opened special Web sites to help pilgrims wanting to follow Pope Benedict XVI’s May 8-15 pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The Jordanian site, which already has several video clips up, will provide live feeds of the papal events.
The Israeli site provides information in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Polish and Portuguese. In addition to news about the pope’s visit, it includes information on the most popular Christian sites in Israel and in Palestine.
Both sites include information and photos from Pope John Paul II’s visit in 2000. The Israeli site says of Pope John Paul’s visit: “His Holiness’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the Great Jubilee was the highlight of all of his papal pilgrimages. His visit to the cradle of Christianity bore historical, emotional and spiritual meaning not only for Christianity but also for the Jewish people.”
Of course, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land also has beefed up its Web site in advance of the trip and filled it with news stories from the Custody’s CTS news service.
Filed under: CNS, Holy Land, papal trip
The decision to include Amman, a city that surely is not part of the Holy Land, is somewhat curious and suggests politics. But politically and, above all, morally, this papal trip is likely to be a missed opportunity. http://www.davidranan.blogspot.com