(10 May 09 - RV) During his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Pope will visit several
Holy Sites which are used by the Catholic, Orthodox, and other Christian Churches.
The complex relationship which exists in these Churches has not always been
friendly, and in the 19th century the Ottoman Empire established what is
known as the Status Quo – which has governed these Holy Sites under the rule of successive
regimes.
To find out more, and to find out how this Status Quo affects the
Pope’s visit, we spoke to Franciscan Father Athanasius Macora...