NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Armenian ambassador to the Holy See has announced that his country hopes for a visit by Pope John Paul II sometime this year.

      Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian ambassador, told reporters in Rome, "We are now working on technical aspects" of a proposed papal trip. He disclosed that the Pope has received two formal invitations for such a visit: one from the country's President Robert Kocharian; the other from the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin I. Both men are in Rome this week for the opening of a special exposition at the Vatican Library tracing the history of relations between Rome and Armenia. Pope John Paul II himself reportedly plans to attend the exposition.

      Diplomatic relations between the Armenian government and the Holy See were established in May 1992, just eight months after the former Soviet republic gained independence. Ties between the Vatican and the Armenian Church have also seen marked improvements in recent years, particularly since Karekin I visited the Vatican in December 1996 to meet with Pope John Paul and sign a joint declaration ending a theological dispute which had divided the Armenian Church from Rome since the Council of Chalcedon in 451.