Pope Travels To Jordan, Israel, West Bank At End of This Week

Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the Middle East beginning the end of this week. He will be in Jordan from May 8 to 11. (Tidings Online.) Then he moves on to visit Israel and the West Bank from May 11 to 15, . The Israel Ministry of Tourism has set up a website with information about this portion of the Pontiff's trip. The website includes Benedict's itinerary and presumably will be updated with reports during his trip. The Forward last week previewed the visit in an article titled Pope's Visit to Israel Fraught With Potential Minefields. And Politics Daily today has a lengthy review of the religious, political and personal issues that confront the Pope on the trip. Meanwhile Zenit yesterday reported that the Pope will deliver 29 discourses and homilies during his week in the Middle East, and will meet with both government officials and representatives of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.