NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II today met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and renewed his appeal for peace in the Middle East. The Palestinian leader, in turn, invited the Pope to visit Bethlehem for a celebration of Christmas during the Jubilee Year 2000.

      The Pope's audience with Arafat was relatively brief, in large part because of the funeral of Cardinal Casaroli. Arafat did not meet with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State, because the cardinal was attending that funeral.

      This was the sixth meeting between Pope John Paul and the Palestinian leader. The two men spoke to each other directly, in English. During their discussion, Arafat emphasized the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the Pope promised that he would remember them in his prayers.

      After the meeting, Arafat told reporters that he had invited the Pope to Bethlehem, and had received a positive response. The Pope has frequently indicated that he would like to visit the Holy Land during the Jubilee, although serious diplomatic problems still militate against such a visit.