BOB ABERNETHY: This week, Pope John Paul II began his jubilee year sacred journey to some of the most important sites mentioned in the Bible. He began the journey Wednesday in Rome with what he called a pilgrimage in spirit to Ur, Abraham's birthplace. Many scholars believe Ur was located in what is modern-day Iraq, but plans for a papal visit to Iraq fell through late last year and the pope instead held a Vatican service to commemorate the life of Abraham.On Thursday, John Paul flew to Egypt for a three-day pilgrimage to mark several biblical events, including the exodus and the flight of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus after threats from King Herod. The pope is conducting special services and meeting with Egypt's religious community, including Islamic leaders and the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
After his Egypt trip, the 79-year-old pope rests up for the biggest leg of his sacred journey, the Holy Land visit from March 20th to the 26th. Archaeologists argue about the authenticity of some of the sites the pope is visiting, but over the centuries, Christian pilgrims have found great spiritual meaning in going to biblical lands. Kim Lawton has our look at John Paul's sacred journey.
KIM LAWTON: He calls it searching for the footprints of God, visiting the places where God chose to pitch his tent among humanity. Pope John Paul II says he's marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus with a sacred journey to retrace what he calls the history of salvation.
Mr. GEORGE WEIGEL (Pope Biographer): In the Jewish and Christian view of things, God acted in history at certain times and certain places. And that's what he's lifting up. And the whole thing has to be understood in that context. This is not the pope attempting to cut a grand end-of-century deal in the Middle East. This is the pope lifting up the truth of God's action in history.LAWTON: The visit to Egypt marks God's revelations to Moses at Mt. Sinai as the children of Israel wandered through the desert. According to the Bible, it was on Mt. Sinai that God gave the Ten Commandments. The pope says the mountain symbolizes the great covenant relationship between God and his people.
He resumes his pilgrimage next month on another mountain, Mt. Nebo in Jordan. The Bible says it was from here that Moses looked out and saw the land of Israel, the Promised Land, which he would not live to enter. John Paul will enter that land on March 21 after a stop at the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized. And for the following five days, he'll retrace the life of Jesus, who Christians believe was God in human flesh, the incarnation.Cardinal WILLIAM KEELER (Archdiocese of Baltimore): He has said a number of times what we are celebrating is the coming of Jesus. To go to this land is to go to the place where that coming actually occurred. It makes it more dramatic, more real, for him and for us, that he goes on this pilgrimage.
LAWTON: The pope has several stops planned: Nazareth, where, according to the Bible, the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus and where Jesus lived as a boy; Bethlehem, where Jesus was born; the Galilee region, where Jesus preached and performed many miracles; and Jerusalem, where Jesus spent his last days on Earth. Here, the pope is expected to visit the traditional site of the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted Communion. And he's expected to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the place where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried, and then resurrected.The pope has emphasized this is exclusively a religious pilgrimage. He said he would be saddened if people were to attach other meanings to his plans. Still, given John Paul's stature and given the conflicts in the region, political implications are inevitable.
John Paul had hoped to begin his sacred journey with a trip to Iraq to visit local Christians and to walk in what he calls the footsteps of Abraham. Tradition holds that Abraham's home of Ur is in modern-day Iraq, although some archaeologists dispute this. But the pope's trip got bogged down in international controversy and the plans were scrapped, at least for now.
LAWTON: Political wrangling is also complicating negotiations for two more possible pilgrimages later this year, to Syria and to Greece. According to the Bible, St. Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and then preached in Athens and in other Grecian cities. The controversy surrounding a Vatican-Palestinian accord on Jerusalem earlier this month shows the potential pitfalls awaiting the pope in the Holy Land. Without mentioning Israel by name, the agreement said any unilateral decisions on the city are morally and legally unacceptable. Jerusalem is claimed by the Palestinians and by the Israelis, who captured the entire city in 1967 and consider it their eternal undivided capital. Many Jews were upset by the agreement.
Dr. YVONNE HADDAD (Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding): I mean, there are some people who question the fact that the pope did recognize Israel and there is diplomatic relations. In spite of the fact that the pope says that, you know, Israel occupies Jerusalem illegally, he has gone ahead and established political relations. And therefore, while they're hoping, they're suspicious.
Cardinal KEELER: Religion is at the heart of so much. It's at the heart of peacemaking, too. And as he goes simply and -- very simply as a religious pilgrim, what he does is going to have some impact on how people look at each other and how they look at the possibilities for peace.
Dr. BRENDA BRASHER (Center for Millennial Studies): I mean, this is a remarkable event in the history of Christendom, and I think it's something that needs to be recorded. It's something that in the year 3000, people are going to look back on and study and think about.
Cardinal KEELER: He is showing himself to be a splendid pilgrim, to take on the challenge of visiting places that I know are going to bring a great deal of joy into his heart, and it's going to be very meaningful for us who follow it. There is pain and sweetness mixed together.
