NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - The Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem unveiled plans by the Catholic Church in the Holy Land for millennial celebrations on Monday, but said political realities and Pope John Paul II's health made the prospects for a papal visit unclear.

      "The situation of confusion in the land is one main reason for which we cannot, or Rome cannot, decide the date," said Patriarch Michel Sabbah told a news conference. The Holy Father has repeatedly made known his desire to tour the Holy Land to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.

      The newly-released calendar of events covers 54 weeks of celebrations in Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem. Festivities will open on December 24, 1999 with midnight Mass in Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem and conclude in the same town on January 6, 2001. All six rites of the Catholic Church present in the Holy Land will participate in the events.