BOB ABERNETHY: The Vatican this week confirmed the dates and itinerary for John Paul II's pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It will be March 20 to 26. The pope will begin in Jordan at the site of Moses' first view of the Promised Land, then to the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized. John Paul will celebrate Mass in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth and at a special service for young people on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Recognizing sacred sites for Jews and Muslims, the pope will visit the Western Wall and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He'll confer with the king of Jordan, the president and the prime minister of Israel, and Yasir Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority.

John Paul is 79 years old, and this week speculation grew that someday he might resign. Bishop Karl Lehmann, head of the Catholic bishops in Germany, said if the pope felt he could no longer lead the church, Bishop Lehmann thought he would have the courage to step down. That was misinterpreted in some of the Italian press as a call for the pope's resignation, which led to denials all around, but which also raised the whole idea of papal resignation.

BOB ABERNETHY: Father Tom Reese is the editor of the Jesuit magazine AMERICA and an authority on Vatican procedures. He joins us from New York.

Father Reese, welcome.

Reverend THOMAS REESE (SJ; Editor, AMERICA MAGAZINE): Thank you.

ABERNETHY: Can a pope resign?

Rev. REESE: Yes, a pope can resign. The last pope that did that was Pope Celestine V over 700 years ago. The reaction was very negative. Dante, for example, put him in hell in the "Inferno."

ABERNETHY: For doing that?

Rev. REESE: Yes.

ABERNETHY: Mm-hmm. What would be the procedure? How would a pope do it now?

Rev. REESE: Really, it's very simple. The pope simply announces that he has resigned and then the College of Cardinals meets to elect a new pope.