Pope invites pair to Vatican

Israeli, Palestinian presidents to meet with Francis in June

Pope Francis greets Israeli children after at the heliport of Hadassah hospital in mount Scopus Jerusalem, Sunday, May 25, 2014. Pope Francis took a dramatic plunge Sunday into Mideast politics while on his Holy Land pilgrimage, receiving an acceptance from the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to visit him at the Vatican next month to discuss embattled peace efforts. The summit was an important moral victory for the pope, who is named after the peace-loving Francis of Assisi.  (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Pope Francis greets Israeli children after at the heliport of Hadassah hospital in mount Scopus Jerusalem, Sunday, May 25, 2014. Pope Francis took a dramatic plunge Sunday into Mideast politics while on his Holy Land pilgrimage, receiving an acceptance from the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to visit him at the Vatican next month to discuss embattled peace efforts. The summit was an important moral victory for the pope, who is named after the peace-loving Francis of Assisi. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Monday, May 26, 2014

JERUSALEM -- Pope Francis delivered a powerful boost of support to the Palestinians during a Holy Land pilgrimage Sunday, repeatedly backing their statehood aspirations, praying solemnly at Israel's separation barrier and calling the stalemate in peace efforts "unacceptable."

In an unscripted move, Francis arranged a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian presidents at the Vatican next month. The meeting, while largely symbolic, shows how the pope has sought to transform his appeal into a moral force for peace.

On the second day of a three-day swing through the region, the pope arrived in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity, before heading to Israel for the final leg of his visit.

While Francis mingled warmly with his Israeli hosts, his trip to Bethlehem included expressions of sympathy and solidarity with the Palestinians.

"I am with you," he told a group of Palestinian children at a stop in Bethlehem's Deheishe refugee camp. He also held a private lunch with five Palestinian families who say they have been harmed by Israeli policies.

Even the pope's arrival in Bethlehem -- by helicopter straight from Jordan -- carried important symbolic significance. Past papal visits to the West Bank have gone through Israel, which captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war.

Palestinian officials hailed Francis' decision to refer to the "state of Palestine." In its official program, the Vatican referred to President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the "state of Palestine," and his Bethlehem office as the "presidential palace." He pointedly called Abbas a "man of peace."

Jubilant Palestinians cheered Francis as he arrived in Bethlehem's Manger Square, shouting "Viva al-Baba!" or "Long live the pope!" Giant Palestinian flags in red, white, green and black and the Vatican's yellow and white flags decorated the square, which is home to the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.

"Coming to Bethlehem and flying to Bethlehem from Jordan shows solidarity with the Palestinian people, which is wonderful. We need that," said Samar Sakkakin, a 52-year-old Palestinian-American from Canton, Mich.

Francis' arrival came weeks after the latest round of U.S.-backed peace talks collapsed. During nine months of negotiations, little -- if any -- progress was made, and there are no signs of talks resuming anytime soon.

Standing alongside Abbas at a welcome ceremony, Francis declared: "The time has come to put an end to this situation, which has become increasingly unacceptable."

In his remarks, Abbas voiced his concerns about the recent breakdown in peace efforts and lamented the difficult conditions facing the Palestinians.

Abbas said he would welcome papal intervention.

"We welcome any initiative from you to make peace a reality in the Holy Land," Abbas said.

In another unscripted move, Francis issued a surprise joint invitation for Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to go to the Vatican to pray for peace together.

"I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer," he said.

The offices of the Israeli and Palestinian presidents quickly confirmed their acceptance, with the Palestinians saying the meeting would take place June 6.

In the spiritual highlight of his visit, Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians prayed together Sunday inside the Jerusalem church that symbolizes their divisions, calling their historic meeting a step toward healing the centuries-old Catholic-Orthodox schism.

Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew embraced one another in the stone courtyard outside the 12th century Church of the Holy Sepulcher and recited the "Our Father" prayer together once inside, an unprecedented moment of solemnity at the spot where Catholic and Orthodox believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The encounter, punctuated by Greek and Latin chants, was full of symbolic meaning: The two men, both in their mid-70s, helped one another down the stone steps leading into the church, grasping one another's forearms. And after Bartholomew delivered his remarks, Francis bent down and kissed his hand in a show of papal respect for a patriarch when some 500 years ago a patriarch was forced to kiss the feet of the pope.

The summit was aimed at bridging rifts between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, Vatican officials said. The denominations differ on theology and liturgy, and they celebrate Christmas and other holidays on different days, posing dilemmas for numerous Catholic-Orthodox mixed couples in the Holy Land and elsewhere.

Also Sunday, the leader of Lebanon's largest Christian denomination visited Jerusalem, an official said, making him the first Lebanese religious leader to set foot in the city since Israel captured its traditionally Arab eastern sector in the 1967 Mideast war.

Cardinal Bechara Rai, head of the Maronite Catholic Church, went to Jerusalem as part of a group of senior clergy accompanying the pope on the Holy Land pilgrimage, said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

Lebanon and Israel are formally still at war after a bloody history over decades.

Information for this article was contributed by Karin Laub, Nicole Winfield and Ariel David of The Associated Press.

A Section on 05/26/2014