Pope tours holy sites in Jerusalem
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The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 13, 2009 00:00
JERUSALEM - Pope Benedict XVI took his message of peace to the most contentious site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict yesterday, urging both sides to engage in "a sincere dialogue aimed at building a world of justice and peace."
The Vatican, meanwhile, defended the pope from a growing chorus of Israeli critics who accused the German-born Benedict XVI of failing to express enough remorse for the Holocaust - a controversy that threatened to eclipse a papal pilgrimage aimed at building bridges between faiths.
On the second day of his Holy Land tour, the pope visited the Dome of the Rock, where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, and the adjacent Western Wall, revered by Jews as a remnant of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.
Competing claims to the hilltop compound - known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and Jews as the Temple Mount - have sparked violence in the past. Resolving the dispute has been the most intractable issue during more than 15 years of on-and-off Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
"In a world sadly torn by divisions, this sacred place serves as a stimulus, and also challenges men and women of goodwill to work to overcome misunderstandings and conflicts of the past and set out on the path of a sincere dialogue aimed at building a world of justice and peace for coming generations," the pope said during a meeting with the top Islamic cleric in Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein. Hussein said afterward he gave the pope a letter complaining about Israeli policies in Jerusalem and appealing for the Vatican's help in bringing about Palestinian independence.
Also yesterday, the pope told Israel's two chief rabbis that the Catholic Church is "irrevocably committed" to "a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews."
On the second day of his Holy Land tour, the pope visited the Dome of the Rock, where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, and the adjacent Western Wall, revered by Jews as a remnant of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.
Competing claims to the hilltop compound - known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and Jews as the Temple Mount - have sparked violence in the past. Resolving the dispute has been the most intractable issue during more than 15 years of on-and-off Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
"In a world sadly torn by divisions, this sacred place serves as a stimulus, and also challenges men and women of goodwill to work to overcome misunderstandings and conflicts of the past and set out on the path of a sincere dialogue aimed at building a world of justice and peace for coming generations," the pope said during a meeting with the top Islamic cleric in Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein. Hussein said afterward he gave the pope a letter complaining about Israeli policies in Jerusalem and appealing for the Vatican's help in bringing about Palestinian independence.
Also yesterday, the pope told Israel's two chief rabbis that the Catholic Church is "irrevocably committed" to "a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews."