Word: pontiff
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Pope Benedict XVI covered a whole lot of sacred terrain on Tuesday. But even as the Pontiff carried a message of peace and reconciliation to some of the holiest sites of the three monotheistic faiths, the weeklong papal visit to the Middle East risks unraveling under the weight of the region's complicated history and Benedict's continuing struggle to be heard both loudly and clearly...
...From there, the Pope followed in John Paul II's footsteps, walking up to place a written prayer in the Western Wall, the remains from the Second Temple (built in the 1st century B.C.) that many say is the historic heart of Judaism. Later in the afternoon, the German Pontiff led a Mass in the ancient Kidron Valley just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, where some Christians and Jews believe the Final Judgment will take place. (See pictures of Pope Benedict's trip to the Holy Land...
...would be a near-miracle if this message of Gaza's hardship ever reaches the Pontiff. Ever since Islamic militants Hamas seized control of Gaza in summer 2007, Israel has barred the exit of all Palestinians except those who need life-saving medical treatment. Security has tightened even more since Israel's 22-day military assault on Gaza, which ended in January. The Vatican and the Latin Church in the Holy Land are also pleading with Israeli authorities to make a goodwill concession and allow Gaza's Christians to see the Pope. Says Father George, who officiates mass...
...pilgrimage" to the Holy Land has been to improve ties with the Jews and the state of Israel, which the Vatican only recognized in 1993. Arab Christians say that have no objection to the Vatican reaching out to Jews, but at the same time, they don't want the Pontiff's visit to gloss over their own troubles with the Israelis. Says George Said, a Bethlehem property dealer: "If the Pope continues to keep quiet about the suffering of Christians from Israelis, a day will come when the churches of Bethlehem and Jerusalem are turned into empty museums without...
...humble and quiet presence of the aging pontiff at Yad Vashem was itself an attempt to improve those relations. The ties had frayed earlier this year after Benedict lifted the excommunication of four ultra-traditionalist Bishops, including one who denies the widely accepted facts about what happened in Nazi Germany. The Pope, who has since said that the Bishop has no standing in the Church so long as he doesn't change his stance on the events of World War II, denounced any who deny the events of the Holocaust...