obituaries

Obituaries from page 73

Pope Francis In Israel

Pontiff calls for peace as he travels the Holy Land

JTA.org

p

ope Francis met with Israeli
President Shimon Peres and
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu May 26 as he prepared to end
his visit to Israel.
Francis met with Peres at the president's
official residence in Jerusalem, where they
exchanged gifts and planted a tree. Peres
in a speech praised the pope for his com-
mitment to peace and his strong stance
against anti-Semitism.
"I appeal to all the religious and spiri-
tual leaders of our time: Make your voices
heard; Peres said. "With a clear message.
Know that you stand as firmly as a rock
against any attempt to connect religion
to terror. And that you aspire to create a
common ground for global, regional and
individual peace. We join you with body
and soul in the effort to thwart murder
and replace it by gates of peace"
Francis called Peres "a man of peace"
The pope has invited Peres and Palestinian

Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to
join him at a prayer summit for peace next
month in the Vatican.
"Peacemaking demands first and fore-
most respect for the dignity and freedom
of every human person, which Jews,
Christians and Muslims alike believe to
be created by God and destined to eternal
life Francis said.
The pope then met Netanyahu for lunch
at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem.
In a speech there, Netanyahu criticized
anti-Israel incitement in the Arab world
and said Israel's security fence in the West
Bank was necessary. A day earlier, Francis
stopped to pray at the barrier during his
visit to Bethlehem.
"We also hope that your call for toler-
ance, coexistence and an end to incite-
ment, anti-Semitism and terrorism will
be accepted by all of our neighbors:'
Netanyahu said. "If the incitement against
the State of Israel ceases, along with the
terrorism, there will be no need for the
means that we have undertaken, such as

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Obituaries

the security
fence, which
has saved lives,
thousands of
lives"
Pope Francis walks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
After meet-
Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony at Israel's Ben Gurion
ing Netanyahu, Airport on May 25, 2014.
the pope vis-
ited several
the highest Muslim religious author-
Christian holy sites, including Mount
ity there. He then went to the adjacent
Zion, the Garden of Gethsemane and the
Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, where
Cenacle, the traditional site of Jesus' Last
he prayed and left a note. He also met with
Supper. Jews consider the site to be King
Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz.
David's tomb, and tensions have risen
Francis also visited the grave of Theodor
over reports that Israel plans to increase
Herzl, the founder of Zionism, and made
Christian access to the site.
an unplanned stop at a memorial for vic-
Francis arrived in the region on
tims of terror.
Saturday, May 24, which he spent in
At Yad Vashem, the pope met with
Amman. After spending the next morn-
Holocaust survivors, laid a wreath and
ing in Bethlehem, he came to Israel in the
said, "Never again, Lord, never again"
afternoon.
"A great evil has befallen us, as such
On his final day in Israel, he visited
that has never occurred; he said in a
the Temple Mount and the Dome of the
speech. "Grant us the grace to be ashamed
Rock, where he met with the Grand Mufti
of what men have done, to be ashamed of
Muhammad Ahmad Hussein of Jerusalem, this massive idolatry."

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