POPE FRANCIS IN THE HOLY LAND
The MEA Peace Mission is strengthened as we join Pope Francis’ prayer for Peace at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Two friends of Pope Francis from Argentina joined him on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The two friends of Pope Francis, helped him when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires promote interreligious dialogue, joined the Pope on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The two, who were present at different moments during the papal pilgrimage are: The rabbi is Abraham Skorka, Rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary of Buenos Aires, who also co-authored a book with Archbishop Bergoglio, the result of their shared television program on which they dialogued about issues facing Jews and Christians in the modern world. The shaykh is Omar Abboud, former secretary general of the Islamic Centre of Argentina.
The outcomes of this historic visit were captured through Pope Francis’ words during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday when he spoke about his recent visit to the Holy Land. He said his journey was meant to renew a commitment to work for Christian unity but also to encourage efforts to work for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. “My journey was also meant to encourage the efforts of those who work for peace in the Middle East and those who care for the many people, especially refugees and children, suffering the effects of war and violence. As you know, I have invited the Presidents of Israel and Palestine to join me in praying for peace.”
The Call to Prayer Israeli and Palestinian leaders have come together at the Vatican to pray for peace. The Pope issued the surprise invitation to the two groups while on a visit to the Holy Land last month. The Pope called on the two presidents to find “the strength to persevere in undaunted dialogue.” “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare,” Pope Francis said. “We have heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word ‘brother.’”