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Pope's Middle East Visit Continues To Be Politically Delicate

By Howard M. Friedman

Arutz Sheva this morning reports on the continuing political delicacy of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Middle East. On Wednesday he travelled to Bethlehem, on the West Bank, to officiate in a Mass at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativty. Among the politically sensitive moments of his West Bank visit were his welcome by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas who gave the Pope as a gift a piece of cement from the controversial security barrier that Israel has built to stop suicide bombers from West Bank towns. The Pope also met in Bethlehem with Arab families who left Israel in 1948. He referred to them as "homeless"-- a characterization that has important significance in the Palestinians' demands for the right to return to Israel proper. While the Pope supports creation of an independent Palestinian state, he also encouraged Arab youth to avoid terrorism.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on May 13, 2009 (boomark / email).