Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, arrives today in Jerusalem where he will stay until May 28, during which time he will meet with Catholic authorities, hold ecumenical meetings, meet with Jewish leaders, including the Chief Rabbi of Israel and with Israeli government officials as well.

The cardinal’s visit is the result of an invitation extended by the Ecumenical Institute of Advanced Theological Studies in Tantur asking him to take part in a colloquium organized by the institute in collaboration with Notre Dame University. He will deliver a talk entitled “Pardon and Purification of Memories.”

Cardinal Kasper’s visit will include meetings with the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, the Catholic ordinaries, the "Custos" of the Holy Land and superiors and members of various religious institutes and congregations. On the ecumenical level, encounters are scheduled with the Greek Orthodox patriarch and the Armenian patriarch, in addition to authorities from other churches and ecclesial communities.