On this occasion the following information gives a general idea about the Church activity with regard to the preparations going on in Jerusalem for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.

The Holy Land centre of the celebrations
With the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente", of November 10, 1994, the Holy Father designated the Holy Land as a centre for the Great Jubilee, along with Rome. "A separate chapter", says the Holy Father, "will be the actual celebration of the Great Jubilee, which will take place simultaneously in the Holy Land, in Rome and in the local Churches throughout the world. " (T.M.A. 55).

Organization

The Jerusalem Committee
The Holy Land immediately began to prepare for this great event. In a meeting of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, March l4-16 1995, the Heads of all the Catholic Churches of the Holy Land established a committee for the Great Jubilee, made up of two Ordinaries for each of the three regions of Jerusalem and Palestine, Israel, and Jordan. The appointed co-ordinator is H. E. Msgr. Kamal-Hanna Bathish, the auxiliary of H. B. Msgr. Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. After consultations, the co-ordinator formed the Jerusalem Committee, made up of representatives of the clergy, religious, and laity. As president of the committee, he was also named by the Holy Father as member of the Central Committee of the Vatican, to serve as the liaison between Rome and Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Committee was privileged by the visit, in February, 1996, of H.E. Msgr. Sergio Sebastiani, secretary of the Central Committee of the Vatican, accompanied by H.E. Msgr. Michael L. Fitzgerald, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. The goal of the visit was to find out what had been accomplished and to encourage the work in the Holy Land.

Commission for Pilgrimages
After that, the activity of the Committee had to be divided among other working groups. The Diocesan Commission for Pilgrimages took upon itself all that concerns pilgrimage. It is already occupied with the following: existing possibilities and the development of the institutions of the Holy Land for the accommodation of the extraordinary number of pilgrims expected for the Year 2000; preparation of the Pilgrim Handbook, as well as an International Encounter in 1997, with the aid of specialists from Jerusalem, for the study of the type of pilgrimage needed for the year 2000, along with related questions..

Commission for Cultural Activities
A Commission for Cultural Activities, formed by the responsible or representatives of the various Biblical Institutes, Seminaries, and of the University of Bethlehem, has also been at work since the beginning of the year 1996. It is in the process of finalizing the details of an intensive Christology course in common, for priests and Bible/theology students of all these institutions. This course will take place at the Armenian Seminary Hall in Jerusalem, on April 29 through May 4, 1997, the first year of preparation dedicated by the Holy Father to the person of the Son. The program and other details will be soon published. Later, this course will be simplified to reach thousands of those who are less prepared. Also in the process of preparation are leaflets vulgarizing the Apostolic Letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, for distribution to the laity. Another project of this commission is the programming of a large conference on the "2000 years of Christian presence in the Holy Land. " Other working groups will be likewise occupied with liturgical, pastoral, and youth activities.

The Synod of the Catholic Church of Jerusalem
One must also remember that the preparation of the Great Jubilee in the Holy Land providentially coincides with the diocesan synod of the Catholic Church of Jerusalem, inaugurated on the eve of Pentecost, 1995, by all the members of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land. This Synod began well and continues in all its spiritual activities for renewing the faith and life of the Church in the Holy Land, as well as the preparation of a pastoral plan for the diocese and can conceivably end at the dawn of the year 2000. Thus the two initiatives will complement one another.

The Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee
The Great Jubilee of the year 2000 also stirs a particular interest outside the Catholic Church. Already in May of 1995, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches of the Holy Land had established a committee for the preparation and joint celebration of the year 2000. Since then, this committee has worked in a spirit of openness and brotherhood. Thus the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches were able to hold a press conference at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on December 21, 1995, during which was presented their common Message for Christmas. This message officially announced the opening of the joint preparation of the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, - along with the individual and particular celebrations of each Church, - and the constitution of the "Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee" (J.I.C.C.), chaired by H.E. Anba Abraham, Coptic Archbishop of Jerusalem and of the Middle East, and including as members: Metropolitan Timothy Margalitis, Chief Secretary of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Bishop Kamal-Hanna Bathish, Vicar General of the Latin Patriarchate, Bishop David Sahagian, Sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate, Very Rev. John H. Tidy, from the Anglican Church and as Secretary Dr. Harry B.V. Hagopian.

This committee is now in the process of preparing a common document on the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, as well as a book on the Church of Jerusalem in which each Church will present itself. Other projects, such as a common calendar and common Church Directory etc., are also being studied. One can only rejoice at the spirit reigning at the meetings of this committee, in which is continually manifested the desire and will for more unity and collaboration in the great event of the year 2000.

The bilateral Commissions
As is understandable, the civil authorities, both Palestinian and Israeli, consider the year 2000 as a very important event for the country. At their request, two bilateral commissions have also been formed. On Christmas eve, President Yasser Arafat, in agreement with H.B. Patriarch Michel Sabbah, personally announced during the Christmas dinner at the monastery of the Franciscan Fathers in Bethlehem, the nomination of H.E. Msgr. Kamal-Hanna Bathish, auxiliary of the Latin Patriarch and president of the Jerusalem Committee, as well as Sheikh Hassan Tahboub, Minister of the Moslem Waqfs and Religious Affairs for the Palestinian Authority and President of the Supreme Islamic Council, as delegates to the bilateral Commission with the Palestinian Authority for the year 2000. The first contacts have confirmed the desire for co-operation on the plan for the civil authority, as well as the possibility of inter-religious dialogue. We are hoping to see the day when this commission will take an ongoing and completed form. Now the various Palestinian Institutions are becoming more and more aware of the importance of this opportunity and trying to better organize to cope with it.

At the end of January of this year, the bilateral Commission with the Israeli authorities was also officially established. This commission was formed, on the Israeli side, by representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, as well as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Religious Affairs, and the municipality of Jerusalem, headed by the under-director of the Tourism Ministry, Mr. Shabtai Shai. During the last meeting on July 8, 1996, the Israeli delegation proposed projects for adaptation and modernization which are of interest to the Catholic Church.

H.E. Archbishop Sebastiani, during his visit in February of 1996, thus found himself in the midst of a full fervour of preparation when he met with these commissions. He made contacts with the municipality of Bethlehem, as well as the team from the municipality of Nazareth in charge of the project "Nazareth 2000", established in 1993 under the direction of the present mayor, M. Ramiz Jaraisy, and already in full activity since the beginning of 1995.

Pilgrimage in the Year 2000
It is necessary to enter into the jubilee spirit. Pilgrimage must therefore bear the imprint of the Jubilee, as an encounter with the grace of God and the God of grace; a time of conscience-taking, revision, and reconciliation with God. Theological reflection on the Jubilee in general, and on the Biblical jubilee in particular, is very important. The jubilee must be a time of liberation of slaves: certainly spiritual slavery, but also the actual slaveries our modern society continues to impose. Pilgrimage will gain depth from this awareness.

By renewing in pilgrims a vision of faith, the Church of the Holy Land intends to open up to them a new horizon of hope. This anniversary of the second millennium of the incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, of his proclamation of the Good News throughout the Holy Land, of his Passion, death, and resurrection, of Pentecost where each heard in his own language the wonders of God: all this must be a ray of light in the shadows of time. The universe can no longer remain bound in the vicious circle of time; but it must enter into the significance of a linear history, oriented towards the Christ who will come even though it continues to suffer birth pangs.

We therefore propose a form of pilgrimage which would be reduced in terms of visits, yet more centred upon the essentialoffering time for meditation, prayer and deeper reflection upon the mystery of Christ. The pilgrim must feel challenged personally to respond with sincerity and conviction to the fundamental question posed to all: "Who is Christ to you?"

The Church of Jerusalem prepares

Spirit of Service in difficult social conditions
It is in the spirit of service that the Church of Jerusalem will receive all these pilgrims. It will be impossible for everything to be perfect, since we are all limited, as are human and material resources, while the task seems without limit. Whatever will be accomplished should contribute to a true evangelization of all humanity. If God attracts pilgrims to Jerusalem, it is because He has something to tell them

The Church of Jerusalem, furthermore, must work under very difficult conditions, given the precarious social situation and the uncertainty of the peace process, and most of all the closure of the Holy City of Jerusalem. How can one work in a Holy Land so parcelled into tiny cantons, if not ghettos, so separated and often impenetrable? One sincerely wishes that the Israeli and Palestinian authorities come to an agreement whereby these conditions would change as soon as possible; because all this could jeopardize the spiritual and temporal benefits of this special year of grace that the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 embodies. Among other things, we have continued to call to the attention of the authorities the problems of security in the Old City, as much for the sake of pilgrims as for the Holy Places themselves.

We have not yet seen, however, any attempts at their solution. In the meantime, it is the Church which, while waiting, is forced to pay guards to face the problem!

Logistics

The Church of Jerusalem is at work with great commitment: from its dioceses (with the committee and commissions of the Great Jubilee) to the Custody of the Holy Land (responsible for the majority of the Holy Places) and the other religious congregations which also serve the shrines. Locations are being prepared which will be better adapted for the encounters and celebrations of large groups, allowing pilgrims to experience what it means to be a part of the Church. Work has begun in Bethlehem to prepare a great hall from the Crusader period; similar work is being done at Cana, Nazareth, Gallicantu, and elsewhere.

Initiatives
In the Church of Jerusalem, a number of initiatives have either begun or at least have been decided upon:

• a) To name a Co-ordinator with a Centreuniquely for the Jubilee, who, under the control of the Committee of Jerusalem, will furnish all the information and programs to pilgrimage directors.

• b) Internet: The Custody of the Holy Land has begun to put on-line historical and archaeological information, as well as the spiritual message of the Holy Places. The proposed programs and celebrations for the millenarian Jubilee could likewise be placed on-line.

• c) Publication in different languages of guidebooks to the Holy Places; the discourses of Paul VI, pilgrim in the Holy Land, to aid meditation; a pilgrim's handbook; and special leaflets for each Holy Place, etc...

• d) The Sacrament of Reconciliation: A particular effort will be made to accommodate pilgrims who will desire reconciliation with God, by furnishing them with places and confessors (in various languages) in the principal shrines.

• e) Group Celebrations: The eventual holding of liturgies as well as special Jubilee celebrations, according to language groups, is already being considered. This will meet, not only the liturgical needs, but also the need for visits to sanctuaries.

• f) The Inauguration act of the first preparatory year 1997, was celebrated in the Holy Cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, in union with the Holy Father for the first Sunday of Advent, December I, 1996

Ecclesial Dimension

The Church of Jerusalem which receives pilgrims is conscious of being the Mother Church. Certain Churches have the tendency to look with compassion upon their old mother whom they believe incapable of renewal.

Nonetheless, her message is the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not the word of mere mortals. She knows that the Holy Land, whose sites have been sanctified by encounter with the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, constitute the fifth Gospel which puts in its true context the message He proclaimed.

She also offers her children, the local Christian community, the inheritor of the first Christian community from the time of Christ and the apostles, and the perpetuation of the presence of Christ and his Church in his land, at the price of great sacrifices. We believe that this community merits the title of sixth Gospel: a living and eloquent Gospel that fellow Christians of the world must not ignore in the course of their pilgrimage.

Ecumenical Dimension

In Jerusalem we rejoice in the fact that one can no longer ignore this dimension, which is one of the great preoccupation of the Holy Father in "Tertio Millennio Advenient.e. " The Patriarchs and the Heads of the Christian Churches of the Holy Land, in their Christmas message of 1995, publicly expressed their desire to prepare and celebrate the Great Jubilee together. We can say that, beyond the particular activities of each Church, and by means of the "Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee " (J. 1. C. C.) created ad hoc, this desire is being expressed ever more fully and is intended to extend to a large part of the initiatives of the Year 2000. This is why, in addition to those initiatives and a Jerusalem ecumenical calendar, there will of necessity be encounters with various Christian Churches, or at least their representatives, which could be organized locally when needed.

There is also a hope for the possibility of an openness to the two other monotheistic religions in the Holy Land, that is, Judaism and Islam.

Conclusion
It is therefore clear how great job is lying on the Church of Jerusalem.

Therefore one cannot over-emphasize the necessity of full and continuous collaboration of all the Churches with the efforts of their Mother Church.

Bishop Kamal-Hanna Bathish
President of the Jerusalem Committee for the Great Jubilee
January 27, 1997.