Pope Francis calls for 'courage' toward peace between Israel, Palestine

c. 2014 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis dived into the Middle East peace process on Sunday (June 8), urging the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to act with courage and end what he called the “spiral of hatred and violence” during a historic prayer meeting at the Vatican.

Before the solemn ceremony, Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, warmly embraced and joked together inside the pope’s Santa Marta residence as a smiling Francis looked on.