July 7, 2005

	Pope Benedict greets Communications Minister Dalia Itzik. Photo courtesy of the Israeli Communications Ministry.

According to a CNS story by Carol Glatz, Israel's Ambasador to the Holy See, Obed Ben-Hur, recently delivered to the new Pope Benedict XVI a formal invitation to visit Israel from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The ambassador told Catholic News Service that the pope received the invitation "with joy," saying that "I would love to go. I would be delighted." The pope indicated that although his schedule was very full, he considered a trip to Israel to be "a priority."

Ambassador Ben-Hur visited the pope on July 6 together with Dalia Itzik, Israel's communications minister, and Israel Maimon, government secretary. They had come to present him with a special commemorative stamp, issued by Israel on the late Pope John Paul II's May 18 birthday to honor his efforts to further Jewish-Catholic relations. The stamp depicts John Paul II at Jerusalem's Western Wall during his visit in 2000.

While no plans for such a visit currently exist, Ben-Hur said that a trip by the German pope "would have a tremendously positive impact" on Israelis. In his few months as pope, Pope Benedict "has already made signals which show his intentions for reconciliation and dialogue" between Jews and Christians, stated the ambassador. "We read him loud and clear. It's quite reassuring, and it gives us a lot of hope."

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