Great expectations

But the pope is traveling in the midst of momentous times. “The Middle East is in turmoil. Syria has a tragedy. Here the peace process is frozen and failed. And the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is only a project; we are waiting for what will happen. There is more religious fanaticism, such as these graffiti and threats.” For many like Shomali, who was born in Bethlehem and is an auxiliary bishop at the Latin Patriarchate, this visit has all the potential to be groundbreaking – if a series of potential minefields can be navigated.

The Tourism Ministry is expecting flocks of visitors following the papal visit. The police have committed large numbers of forces. Foreign Ministry officials are working around the clock, pouring an unprecedented amount of effort into making sure all runs seamlessly and adheres to protocol. Large banners adorn buildings in the Old City. Here and abroad, many talk about messages of peace and expectations for something major to happen.

POPE FRANCIS is very different from his German predecessor Benedict XVI.

Born in Argentina in 1936, he was educated in Jesuit institutions that emphasized passion and humility. He has made modesty a hallmark of his papacy, forgoing the red shoes and ermine- trimmed cape of his predecessor in favor of simple white robes. When elected last March he chose not to live in the traditional suite in the apostolic palace, but in a Vatican guest house.

Moreover, the pope has embraced redistribution of wealth and taken what seem like more liberal attitudes to private matters of the home such as homosexuality.

Privately some clergy express reservations over his off-the-cuff remarks, which have left the media agape. For instance, in a homily delivered on May 13 regarding inclusiveness, he asked, “If tomorrow, Martians came to us here and said they wanted to be baptized, what would happen?” “Who are we to close doors?” he pondered, ostensibly in a discussion about the early church’s embrace of pagans.

Thus, all eyes are watching the first pope from the New World visit the Holy City, and people will hang on his every word.

Although Israeli government officials and the public interpret the visit around its Israeli aspects – the meeting with President Shimon Peres, the visit to Yad Vashem and the Western Wall – this is not the central purpose of the event. Father Athanasius Macora, a Franciscan monk who grew up in Texas and has worked for many years in Jerusalem in key institutions of the church, notes, “The main stated reason, which may be the principal reason, is to commemorate the 50th [anniversary of the] visit of Paul VI to Jerusalem in 1964 and his meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople [the seat of the Orthodox patriarch is still called by its Byzantine-era name, rather than Istanbul]; and that is the main purpose of the visit.

“The pope will meet with the current Patriarch, Bartholomew I, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Unlike papal visits in places like Brazil, where in July three million turned out at boisterous Copacabana Beach to see him, there will be no giant open-air prayers or streets lined with the faithful as His Holiness walks among them. “There is no large public mass or meeting with the people of Jerusalem. There will be a mass in Bethlehem, though; it is a short trip.”

Athanasius is an expert on the relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches; he wrote his thesis on the aftermath of pope Paul VI’s meeting. He notes that before 1964, the last real contact between the Vatican and Constantinople was in the 16th century. “Pope Gregory wrote to his counterpart that they wanted to reform the calendar, because the Julian calendar was slipping; it slips a day every century for the date of Easter. So when Paul VI wrote to the patriarch [and met him], that was the first time in 400 years.”

The Orthodox Church emphasizes this aspect as well. It has dedicated a special website to the occasion, highlighting the 1964 meeting. Historical photos show the Greek Patriarch Athenagoras beaming, his hand clasped over this chest, standing next to a sullen Paul VI, his deep-set eyes making him seem anxious. Athenagoras, who was born in Albania in the 1880s, said in 1967 that it was important “to join that which is divided… affirming the common points of faith and rule.”

For the clergy involved, this meeting with Pope Francis therefore has a 1,000- year history, since the schism of 1054 which resulted in the Catholics and Orthodox going their separate ways. Athanasius argues, “This meeting is more symbolic than substantive. Since 1978 there have been discussions, and the patriarch has been to Rome and even studied in Rome, and the Pope has been to Constantinople; they have had visits on a regular basis since 1964, so the formalities are pretty solid.

Therefore, this visit is high-visibility, but I don’t think it changes much.”

Yet on the Orthodox side, there seems to be less focus among non-clergy on the occasion. One monk traveling from Eastern Europe felt it was “not at all important,” noting that a pan-Orthodox meeting in Istanbul representing some 250 million believers in March was of greater value.

THE ARRIVAL of Francis is seen through the lens of an increasing pattern of papal visits. Until 1993 there were no relations between Jerusalem and the Vatican and the church was seen as hostile to the Jewish state, especially in the early years.

Raymond Cohen is a graduate of Oxford and a professor of international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who has written a book called Saving the Holy Sepulchre, about how the Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox worked to repair the church. He says, “The interesting thing is that these papal visits have become routine. This is indicative – no one is falling off their chairs because of it.”

It has become formulaic, says Cohen.

“The Western Wall, Yad Vashem, president, prime minister, Chief Rabbinate – that was fixed by John Paul II [in 2000], and Benedict XVI followed the same scheme. That has become routine.

The same thing is true on the Jordanian side. We tend to think of the pope as a diplomatic or political figure; but his main interest is theological or ecumenical.

Half of the visit is his encounter with Patriarch Bartholomew. That is a significant encounter, and will involve joint prayers and the kiss of peace. He wants to kickstart the idea of the unity of the church.”

Cohen describes how in the old days before 1964, the monks used to get into fights at the Holy Sepulchre. In fact, such unsightly dust-ups took place as recently as 2011 in Bethlehem between Greek and Armenian clergy. “Relations between the Greeks and Latins have been correct and cooperative. That is what has made this visit possible. I think Francis really believes in this idea of church unity,” he explains.

The professor also sees the visit as a way for Francis to “strengthen his hand in intra-church discussions, and the reason I say that is because when the pope is elected by the cardinals, he still has to win the sympathy of the church and the Catholics worldwide. That can take a long time. It took John Paul II some years, and Benedict never achieved legitimacy in that way [and retired in 2013]. So he has to prove himself. This is what Francis has been doing in a spectacular way.”

He describes the visit almost like a public relations caravan: “It is a spectacular way to attract the world’s Catholics.

The Sepulchre, and other symbolic sites, will resonate with his constituency.

He will strengthen his hand in debates within the Vatican and the Curia [Vatican bureaucracy].”

In that sense, the pope’s visit to the ancient city so holy to Christians will serve as a shield against Vatican conservatives; he will show he is not only a reformer and popular abroad, but can function in inter-church and theological matters as well. “He may make up to 30 speeches – and they will be analyzed.

He is sending messages, like a president or candidate going on the stump.”

THE POPE’S travels will take him first to Jordan tomorrow, where he will meet the king and queen and hold mass in an Amman stadium. He will then travel to the Jordan River to visit the baptismal site of Jesus, then meet with disabled people and refugees.

On Sunday a helicopter will deposit him in Bethlehem for a visit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom the Vatican website refers to as “president of the State of Palestine.”

He will hold mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity and have lunch with “families from Palestine,” then pay a visit to the church and meet with children from refugee camps in the Dehaishe neighborhood.

Late Sunday he will go by helicopter to Ben-Gurion Airport, then to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the central meeting of the visit. Monday will consist of his visits with the mufti of Jerusalem, President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and visits to the Western Wall and Yad Vashem.

The time spent in Israel is interesting because the pope is not leaving Jerusalem. Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, while enthusiastic, told the The Jerusalem Post, “We would like to see a thesis on the aftermath of pope Paul VI’s meeting. He notes that before 1964, the last real contact between the Vatican and Constantinople was in the 16th century. “Pope Gregory wrote to his counterpart that they wanted to reform the calendar, because the Julian calendar was slipping; it slips a day every century for the date of Easter. So when Paul VI wrote to the patriarch [and met him], that was the first time in 400 years.”