NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    VATICAN CITY, NOV 18 (ZENIT).- John Paul II never stops surprising his collaborators with new plans; they have again been forced to make corrections to the official calendar for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, which will begin with the opening of the Holy Door in just 37 days time.

    The first, and perhaps most significant, change is the newly scheduled trip to the Holy Land, during the last week of March 2000, announced this morning by Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. For the Holy Father, the pilgrimage will be a dream come true.

    As the Pontiff himself wrote at the end of June, this pilgrimage is of a purely spiritual character, embracing the great places of Revelation.

    But the changes do not stop here. Archbishop Sepe confirmed that for the first time in history, the Holy Father will open the Holy Door in four patriarchal basilicas. In previous Holy Years, the Pontiff only opened St. Peter's Door in the Vatican, and the others were opened by Cardinals legate.

    In presenting the changes to the Jubilee calendar, the secretary of the Vatican Committee for the Jubilee disclosed that in the year 2000 the number of expected beatification ceremonies will increase (there will be 3: the first on March 5, the second on April 9, and the third on September 3) as well as canonizations (there will be 2: the first on May 21 and the second on November 1). The increase in these ceremonies is due to the fact that over the last few months several processes have been concluded, multiplying by 2 the number of saints and blessed to be proclaimed in 2000.

    The announced "mea culpa" (petition for forgiveness), in which the Holy Father will acknowledge historical sins of the children of the Church, will take place the first Sunday of Lent (March 12) in St. Peter's, instead of Ash Wednesday (March 8), as originally established in the official calendar.

    Finally, the four official concerts that will be held in the Vatican during the Jubilee have been added to the official calendar. The first is a gift for the Pope who will be 80 on May 18: it will be performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The remaining musical events will take place on June 8 (Vienna Philharmonic); September 23 (Hungary's 'Danubia' Youth Orchestra), and October 22 (Brno Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Republic). ZE99111708

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