By that standard, Francis showed that Catholicism on his watch is alive and kicking by delivering one of the greatest surprises of his papacy — a peace summit that's likely to have no immediate impact whatsoever on the Middle East peace process, but that yet still managed to feel like a historic turning point.

In truth, going in to Sunday's prayer with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres, neither the pope nor his advisers were expecting a miracle.

"Anybody who has even a minimum understanding of the situation would never think that as of Monday, peace will break out," said Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a Franciscan priest based in the Middle East who organised the event.

The pope's lone ambition, he said, was to "open a path" that was previously closed.

Yet even if nothing results on the Israeli/Palestinian front, there are three reasons why tonight's "invocation for peace" was much more than a photo-op.

First, it represents a revitalization of the Vatican's diplomatic capacity after a period in which it hit a nadir. Continue reading.

John L. Allen Jr is associate editor at the Globe, specialising in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. He also serves as senior Vatican analyst for CNN, and was for 16 years a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

Source: Boston Globe

Image: Patheos

The Pope at the River Jordan, visiting with Syrian refugees, celebrating mass in Bethlehem, praying at the separation wall, uniting with the Ecumenical Patriarch, visiting the Dome of the Rock, leaving a note at the Western Wall, kissing the hands of Holocaust survivors... to name a few.

However, the image that stood out most to me was a spontaneous embrace between Sheikh Omar Abboud, Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Pope Francis in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The three religious leaders from Argentina held to each other in solidarity, drawing strength from their friendship and experiencing a moment of sacredness; made more holy by one another's presence.

These three representing the different faith traditions that inhabit the Holy Land offer to all of us a symbol of hope in a land that is desperate for peace.

Traveling with his Muslim and Jewish friends, the Pope used the powerful practice of compassion to hear and honour the stories of pain, struggle and hope of people in all different locations in the Mideast conflict.

The Pope didn't take one side or the other, he took the side of peace and so can we. Continue reading.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is a Baptist minister and the Executive Religion Editor for the Huffington Post.

Source: Huffington Post

Image: New York University

That interview made history; it was the first time that a TV crew entered Santa Marta to interview the pope.

What is not known, however, is that immediately afterwards Francis asked to speak in private with the TV reporter, Henrique Cymerman.

He opened the conversation with a highly significant question regarding the Israeli-Palestinian situation: "How can I help?" and he then followed up with a series of other pertinent questions.

I learned all this because Cymerman happened to be sitting in front of me on the papal plane from Rome to Amman.

When the Pope came to greet each of the 73 journalists from 15 countries that are accompanying him on his "pilgrimage of prayer" to Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, I noticed that he spoke to the Israeli in Spanish and that it was clear that they seemed to know each other well, and had something to say to each other.

My curiosity was aroused. Afterwards, I asked the Israeli how he had first come to know the Argentinian pope and he told me this fascinating story.

Cymerman was born in Portugal of a Spanish mother and Polish father, and came to Israel at the age of 16. He speaks many languages and is one of the lead reporters for Israel's Channel 2 TV.

In April 2013 he travelled to Buenos Aires to give a conference on the Middle East. Some 700 people attended including Rabbi Abraham Skorka, an old friend of Francis.

Skorka, it seems liked what the Israeli said, and afterwards approached him and asked if he would like to meet Pope Francis. Cymerman responded enthusiastically and so Skorka contacted the pope and arranged an interview for June 7. Continue reading.

Source: America Magazine

Image: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters

We read about them in history books without giving much thought to how the world could have been different had they stayed with us.

In this instance, the subject is Bethlehem, a city that is vanishing in front of our eyes. Does it matter?

This is the question I have been asking myself since Christmas 2004, when I embarked on a film that was meant to chronicle the changes taking place in my hometown.

Israel had just started building a wall that today confines Bethlehem to less than 13 per cent of its original territory, a development that threatens to drive out all of its Christian population.

I have always known that Bethlehem is a unique place but it was always difficult to put it into words.

Despite its global fame, no one has tried to tell the story of my town beyond the stereotypes of the Nativity or the brutality of military occupation.

Yet Bethlehem does have another story, and understanding it is key to a meaningful engagement with the politics of the Middle East.

It wasn't until very recently that I discovered an account that supports my long-held belief about Bethlehem's unusual pedigree. Continue reading.

Source: The Elders

Image: Operation Bethlehem/Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation

In one short trip, I prayed at the spot where Jesus was born, stood at the foot of the mountain where he fed the 5,000 and touched the rock into which his cross was planted.

To all those atheists who say "Jesus wasn't even real", I've been to his house - an unassuming little place in Nazareth where the Biblical stories and archaeological evidence cohabit.

Seeing all those wonders requires elbows of steel.

The queues of Orthodox pilgrims were not unlike those that sprang up when the first McDonald's opened in Moscow: thousands of old Russian women pushing and shoving their way to the front in a frenzied dash for a taste of the divine.

Yes, I may have swung the odd punch, but only ever in self-defence.

What's equally striking is the physical reality of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

A trip to the Western Wall in Jerusalem is instructive.

Jews believe that this is one of the walls of their sacred Temple and they come here from all over the world to pray, pushing their handwritten petitions into the cracks of the warm, smooth stone.

Jews were barred from the site until 1967, when they captured the Old City during the Six-Day War (you can still see the bullet holes).

They formalised their ownership of the Wall by bulldozing the 770-year old Moroccan Quarter that stood in front of it.

It was a horrendous piece of vandalism, but all in keeping with the history of the Holy Land. Continue reading.

Source: The Catholic Herald

Image: The Atlantic/AP

Pope John Paul II did so in March 2000, and Pope Benedict visited in 2009. I was privileged to participate in welcoming the Pope on both occasions.

However, this time, I will be out of the country at the time of the visit, so I will welcome Pope Francis on this blog.

Who would have imagined that the third pope in 15 years will be visiting Israel — the nation state of the Jewish people — and Palestine and Jordan? This would have been unthinkable only a few decades ago.

Why is he coming to the region at this time? What message will he bring with him for us?

The official answer is not directly related to Israel or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Pope's office in an official press release has described the visit to the Holy Land as "a pilgrimage of prayer" and has said that the "main purpose" of his three-day visit is "to commemorate the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, which took place on 5 January 1964 exactly 50 years ago."

Athenagoras' successor as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), Bartholomew I, who is recognized as "first among equals" in the leadership of the 250 million-member worldwide Orthodox Church, attended the inauguration of Francis as Pope in St Peter's Square on March 19, 2013 — the first time in over a thousand years that a leader of the Orthodox Church attended this inauguration.

Now, he has invited Francis to join him in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first encounter between a Pope and an Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople since the Great Western Schism in 1054. Continue reading.

Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish serves as the founder and director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel. Born and raised in the U.S., he has lived in Jerusalem for 34 years.

Source: HuffingtonPost

Image: Betham

As we remind ourselves each year, Joseph and Mary made their long journey, compelled by a census. It became a journey of joy as Mary gave birth to a baby whom we call the Prince of Peace.

As we sing Christmas carols we are invited to think of Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. This year I'd invite you to think also of what Bethlehem has become today.

To make the journey from Nazareth in Israel to Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territories today, Mary and Joseph would have to cross through approximately 70 Israeli barriers - checkpoints, fences, walls and barriers which would involve multiple interrogations and delays - and they would be lucky to be allowed through at all.

These same barriers prevent shepherds watching their flocks, either by day or by night. Most people in Bethlehem have been cut off from their grazing lands, having significant economic effects. Continue reading.

Bishop Pat Power is a retired auxiliary bishop of Canberra and Goulburn. He is a member of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network.

Source: Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, this article was reprinted in December's Wel-Com

Image: Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn