Papal visit to Holy Land

Posted on 29. May, 2014, in Faith and Justice, Gospel Values, Humanitarian Aid, Places of ConflictComments Off on Papal visit to Holy Land

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Pope Francis said goodbye to Israel last Monday evening after an historic three-day visit to the Holy Land. He earned new fans and amazed politicians with his unprecedented invitation for a peace prayer summit in Rome.

He was the first pontiff to fly directly into the West Bank and to refer to the Israeli-occupied territory as the “State of Palestine.” He made a dramatic, unscheduled stop at Israel’s contentious concrete barrier separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem, where he prayed and touched his head against the graffiti-covered wall.

Francis called the conflict “increasingly unacceptable” and said that “Peace must resolutely be pursued, even if each side has to make certain sacrifices.”

Here Miriam Gormally talks with Fr. John Guiney SJ, Director of Centre for Faith and Justice who has spent many years overseas with the Jesuit refuge services, about the trip.