"Pope may visit Holy Land next year"

Reuters:

Pope Benedict could visit the Holy Land next year, Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Thursday after a private audience with the Pontiff.

"His initial inclination is to do it next year," Peres told a news conference. "I believe he will try to do whatever he can to have his visit not postponed for any length of time."

The Pope told Peres's predecessor two years ago that he hoped to visit Israel in 2006, but that failed to happen and his spokesman said the timing of a visit was still not clear.

"As you know, the Pope is ready but the timetable still needs to be seen," Federico Lombardi told reporters after the audience.

The German-born Pope, who visited the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz last year, is due to pray at a memorial for Austrian victims of the Holocaust when he visits Vienna on Friday.

CWNews on the Pontiff's meeting with Peres.