Pope Francis made a whirlwind trip through the West Bank and Jerusalem this weekend, meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He entered the Dome of the Rock mosque and left a wreath at the grave of Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, pushing for peace and reconciliation while speaking against any form of violence in the name of God.

The 77-year-old Pope from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has served in the papacy for just over a year and is known for his big heart rather than his thoroughly orthodox views. He’s considered a strict conservative on social matters, rejecting the ordination of women, abortion and gay marriage, but he has embraced people of other religions with ecumenical warmth, befriending members of the Jewish and Muslim communities in Argentina. He once declared that even good atheists who followed their consciences might go to Heaven, because Jesus’ blood covered the sins of the world — a statement that raised some controversy.

The Jerusalem Post noted in 2013 that this Pope might be less theologically critical of Jews than of Protestants, since Christianity has its roots in Judaism. “In 2005, Bergoglio was the first public personality to sign a petition for justice in the AMIA Jewish community center bombing case,” the editorial noted. “He also was one of the

signatories on a document called ’85 victims, 85 signatures’ as part of the bombing’s 11th anniversary. In June 2010, he visited the rebuilt AMIA building to talk with Jewish leaders.”

His warm relationship with rabbis in his home country was reflected in his visit to Jerusalem over the weekend. He laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s best-known Holocaust Memorial, declaring “Never again, Lord, never again!” He listened to the stories of six Holocaust survivors as they described what happened to them and their friends and families. He expressed horror at the devastation of the Holocaust, quoting Genesis 3:9, “In this place, this memorial of the Shoah, we hear God’s question echo once more: ‘Adam, where are you?’ Here, before the boundless tragedy of the Holocaust, That cry — ‘Where are you?’ — echoes like a faint voice in an unfathomable abyss.”

His condemnation of the Holocaust went into the guest book at Yad Vashem, where he also wrote, “With shame for the fact that man made himself the owner of evil; with shame that man made himself into God and sacrificed his brothers. Never again!! Never again!! Francis. 5.26.2014.”

Pope Francis often describes the Jews as his “older brothers,” in the Faith. He visited the Western Wall, the location closest to the Temple Mount where Jews can legally pray, and he pushed a written copy of the “Our Father” into a crack in the wall, along with the multitude of other prayers placed there. He even honored the grave of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism.

He praised Israeli President Shimon Peres as a “good and wise man” who had worked toward peace and reconciliation with the Palestinians, even planting an olive tree at the home of Peres. However, the Pope’s warmth toward the Jews did not include a rebuke of the Jews’ hostile neighbors. When in Bethlehem, he expressed frustration with the failure of the peace process and compassion toward the Palestinians because of the wall that Israel had built around the West Bank town. The Pope invited both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Peres to soon visit the Vatican to pray for peace. Both leaders accepted the invitation.

Pope Francis also prayed at the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim shrine that dominates the Temple Mount. He called the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and other Muslim leaders, “dear brothers,” saying, “May we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters! May we learn to understand the suffering of others! May no one abuse the name of God through violence!”

Lest the Pope misunderstand Israel’s predicament in the Middle East, Prime Minister Netanyahu asked the pontiff to make a small detour and visit the terrorism memorial, including the part dedicated to those hit in the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing. He urged Francis to understand that Israel’s wall was built to protect people from the ongoing Palestinian terror. The rabbi at the Western Wall also offered Francis a 1400-year-old map of the area, in which the map-maker wrote ‘Soloman’s Tabernacle’ on the Temple Mount.

“We all know how urgent the need for peace is,” the Pope said during his visit, “not only for Israel but also for the entire region. May efforts and energies be increasingly directed to the pursuit of a just and lasting solution to the conflicts that have caused so much suffering.”

As promised in Zechariah 12:2–3, Jerusalem has continued to be a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for the nations of the world. There are many other disputed locations on the planet Earth — Kashmir, Tibet, Taiwan — and yet no conflict over any other land is as constantly in the public eye as that of Israel. We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and yet we know that true peace will not come until the Prince of Peace brings it. In the meanwhile, despite the best efforts of every world leader, civil and religious, the conflict continues.

Further Reading

• Pope Francis Honors Victims Of Holocaust, Terrorism In Israel
  — Fox News
• Peres, Abbas Accept Papal Invitation To Pray For Peace At Vatican
  — The Jerusalem Post
• Pope, in Mideast, Invites Leaders to Meet on Peace
  — The New York Times
• Pope Leaves Holy Land After Hectic Three-Day Tour
  — Haaretz
• Pope Francis to Meet with Sex Abuse Victims
  — USA Today
• Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics
  — The Huffington Post
• Francis & the Jews
  — The Jerusalem Post