The Archdiocese of New York is continuing its silence on reports that the Israeli government has formally invited Archbishop John Cardinal O’Connor to visit Israel.
Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Wednesday that “the Cardinal has no comment” on the press reports published this week. Zwilling said an announcement will be made at the appropriate time. Last week he told the JTA that he could not release any information until O’Connor returned from a visit to the Dominican Republic last weekend.
Press reports said O’Connor had received an invitation to visit Israel from the Israel Consulate in New York, but Consulate officials would neither confirm nor deny this.
In a July 17 article in the JTA Bulletin, O’Connor was quoted as saying that he would visit Israel upon a formal invitation from the government. He also stated that such a visit would require approval by the Vatican.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
