Israel honors John Paul II with stamp, park

Vatican City, May 22, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Israel is honoring Pope John Paul II with a commemorative stamp and a park in the Galilee, Israel’s embassy to the Holy See announced Friday.

The stamp depicts the pontiff's visit to Israel in 2000 and his stop at the Western Wall, where he left a letter asking forgiveness for acts committed against Jews by Christians throughout history.

The stamp was issued May 18, which would have been John Paul’s 85^th birthday, and it bears the late Pope’s prayer for peace in the Holy Land: "May peace be God's gift to the land He chose as His own."

The embassy also announced plans to create a park in the Galilee, dedicated to John Paul. He had celebrated a mass at that site during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000.