Vatican official calls Holy Land pilgrimages 'acts of courage' NEWS BRIEFS, Feb-26-2004, By Catholic News Service

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- A Vatican official said pilgrimages to the Holy Land were "acts of courage and solidarity" that helped bring peace to the region. Msgr. Liberio Andreatta, director-general of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican's pilgrimage office, said pilgrims "can be protagonists for a common project of peace." He made his remarks during a plenary session of the Third Prime Minister's Conference for Tourism to Israel, held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Feb. 22-24. Pilgrims of all faiths with roots in the Holy Land should be free to visit their holy sites, Msgr. Andreatta said. "This is a land that belongs to God ... here every believer finds his culture and religion. Pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a duty and a right," he said. Despite the political conflicts, Msgr. Andreatta said pilgrims can travel to the Holy Land, but should coordinate their trips with Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Those pilgrims who have "overcome the threshold of initial fear" have had very meaningful and safe experiences in the Holy Land, he said.

Pilgrims no longer limited to travel through Judea and Samaria 19 February, 2004, ISRAEL - PALESTINE – VATICAN, Rome (AsiaNews)

There are no longer problems and obstacles for pilgrims wanting to reach Bethlehem and the Occupied Territories. Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben Hur, told AsiaNews today that the Tel Aviv airport no longer passes out leaflets stating that visits to the Occupied Territories are limited and that it has “returned to previous procedures”.

Last Jan. 22 AsiaNews reported that Tel Aviv airport military personnel handed out leaflets to pilgrims wanting to travel to the Occupied Territories (Bethlehem, Jericho, Emmaus, Qumran, etc.), informing them they needed special authorization to visit these places.

Military authorities were given the final authority to grant permission or not. Israeli sources confidentially told AsiaNews the procedure risked stopping tourism in the Holy Land.

The Ministry of Tourism, worried about the procedure’s consequences on the flow of tourism (which was already tested by problems with terrorism and Israeli-Palestinian tension), attempted to put the brakes on requiring such special authorizations.

Yesterday, Feb. 18. the Israeli tourism minister, Raphael Ben Hour, issued a statement in Hebrew, asking “to get rid of the leaflet informing tourists that their travel to Palestinian Authority territories , in Judea and Samaria, was prohibited.”

In the statement he said “instructions have been given to border police to stop passing out the leaflet …at Ben Gurion airport” so that “tourist travel to Judea and Samaria will be permitted according to the rule and norms” of the past. In his statement he makes no mention of Gaza, which has been placed under tight control following the latest terrorist attacks.”

During a telephone call with AsiaNews, Ambassador Oded Ben Hur said “all this (the leaflet and its stipulated travel restrictions) was a mistake and we have corrected it.”

RESTRICTIONS LIFTED FOR PILGRIMAGES TO JUDEA AND SAMARIA ZENIT

JERUSALEM, FEB. 19, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Israeli officials are no longer asking visiting pilgrims to restrict their movements while in the Occupied Territories, AsiaNews reported.

Evud Gol, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, told the news agency said the practice of handing out leaflets listing the restrictions has been discontinued at Tel Aviv airport.

Last month, Israeli military personnel were handing out welcome leaflets to visitors which specified that "entry into territories under control of the Palestinian Authority, in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria (Area A), was prohibited without previous written authorization."

As a result, pilgrims could not travel freely to places such as Bethlehem, Jericho, Emmaus or Qumran without risking serious sanctions, including deportation.

Given the consequent negative effects for tourism in the Holy Land, Israeli Tourism Minister Raphael Ben Hour on Wednesday issued a statement to revoke "the leaflet that prohibits the entrance of tourists in the territories of the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria."

The text affirmed that "the entrance of tourists in the territories of Judea and Samaria is permitted in keeping with the norms and regulations" of the past.

The message does not mention Gaza, which is under special control in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.

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PILGRIMS' PROGRESS: A "MARSHALL PLAN" FOR THE HOLY LAND ZENIT

Project Encourages Trips to Keep Sites Afloat Economically

ROME, FEB. 13, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Church in Italy has launched a "Marshall Plan" of pilgrimages to help boost business for Holy Land sites in crisis since the outbreak of the intifada.

The main source of income of these institutions and those who work in them are pilgrims. For this reason, the 12th Theological-Pastoral Congress held this week by the Roman Work of Pilgrimages (ORP) invited all Italian dioceses to send spiritual expeditions to the land of Jesus.

"There are 230 dioceses in Italy," observed ORP administrator-delegate, Monsignor Liberio Andreatta.

"If each one succeeds in organizing a group, there would be pilgrims all year-round in the Holy Land," he said. "This would be a real 'Marshall Plan' of the Italian bishops themselves to save the Holy Land and its economy."

In fact, the plan of the Italian episcopal conference began in January. Nine groups have already gone abroad, the monsignor said.

"The Holy Land's door is open; we must not be afraid," he said during the congress that celebrated the 70th anniversary of the ORP, an institution of the Diocese of Rome.

Among the ORP programs is the "marathon of peace," which will be led April 23 by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome, to join Jerusalem with Bethlehem.

The marathon, of some 15 kilometers (10 miles), will include Italian athletes. Its purpose is to say "no" to violence and to drew world attention to help Palestinians and Israelis return to the negotiating table.

The race will be held in the framework of the pilgrimage "Italian Athletes in the Holy Land: Ambassadors of Peace."

ORP sources told ZENIT that none of their pilgrims has ever been a victim of violence in the Holy Land.

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