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Papal Diplomacy

Pope Benedict XVI travels to Jordan and Israel on an eight-day visit to the Middle East.

May 15: Pope Benedict XVI prays in the Golgotha, or Calvary, the traditional site where Jesus was crucified, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. The pope preached a message of hope for all mankind that "love is stronger than death". It was Benedict's first visit as pope to the place where Christ was crucified, died, was buried and then rose from the dead, according to the Christian faith.

Yannis Behrakis-Reuters

May 15: Pope Benedict kisses the Stone of Anointing, where Christians believe the body of Jesus was prepared for burial, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Yannis Behrakis-Reuters

May 15: Pope Benedict XVI, left, presents a book as a gift to Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theofilos III, during his visit to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Benedict assured his followers in the Holy Land that peace is possible by putting aside the contentious issues he has confronted over the past week and coming as a pilgrim to the site of Jesus' crucifixion.

Heidi Levine-AP

May 15: Pope Benedict makes remarks before his departure at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, as he ends his week-long visit to the Middle East and pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During his visit, the pope led 50,000 worshippers in a jubilant Mass outside of Nazareth in an effort to rally his flock, whose numbers have been holding steady inside Israel's borders but dropping steeply in the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Darren Whiteside-Reuters

May 15: Pope Benedict XVI shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as President Shimon Peres looks on, during a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Peres praised the pope and called his visit "a profound demonstration of the enduring dialogue between the Jewish people and the hundreds of millions of Christian believers throughout the world."

Gpo-Getty Images

May 14: Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful as he enters the Holy Mass on Mt. Precipice in the Galilee town of Nazareth in northern Israel. The Pontiff is nearing the end of his eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy sites in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank.

David Silverman-Getty Images

May 14: Nuns attend Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI on Mount Precipice. Tens of thousands of pilgrims with flags and banners came to witness Pope Benedict XVI celebrate his largest Holy Land Mass.

Daniel Bar-on-AFP/Getty Images

May 14: Christian pilgrims leave after the Mass led by Pope Benedict XVI on Mount Precipice. The Pope is on his fourth day of a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Moti Milrod-AP

May 14: Pope Benedict XVI meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the northern city of Nazareth.

Reuters

May 13: Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Holy Mass with a crowd of pilgrims gathered at Manger Square in Bethlehem. During the pope's visit marred by controversy over his wartime past as a member of the Nazi's Hitler Youth, the Pontiff called for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to a homeland for both sides.

David Silverman-Getty Images

May 13: Pope Benedict is greeted by Palestinian youth dressed in traditional costume during a visit to the Aida Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem.

Tony Gentile-Reuters

May 13: Pope Benedict XVI, left, shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahud Abbas, as he visits the Aida refugee camp. Benedict called for a Palestinian homeland, urged youths to shun "terrorism" and lamented Israel's wall that towered over his first trip to the West Bank.

Alberto Pizzoli-AFP/Getty Images

May 13: Pope Benedict XVI passes the Israeli separation barrier, as he leaves the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem.

David Furst-AFP/Getty Images

May 12: Pope Benedict XVI places his note to God in the Western Wall at Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel. "I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations, the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world," the note read, according to a copy released to reporters. "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft; send your peace upon this Holy Land."

David Silverman-Getty Images

May 12: Pope Benedict XVI kisses a cross during his visit to the Cenacle, where Christian tradition says Jesus attended the Last Supper, on Mount Zion, just outside Jerusalem's Old City walls.

Amos Ben Gershom/GPO-Reuters

May 12: Pope Benedict XVI approaches the central steps to walk on-stage accompanied by Christian priests and bishops during a mass in the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem's Old City. The Pope is on a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Tara Todras-whitehill-AP

May 12: Pope Benedict XVI blesses worshipers during a Mass at the Garden of Gethsemane, in the Kidron Valley between the Mount of Olives and the 400-year-old walls of Jerusalem's Old City. Pope Benedict XVI arrived at the site at which he would celebrate his first Holy Land Mass as pontiff during a week-long visit to appeal for peace and religious coexistence.

Jack Guez-AFP/Getty Images

May 12: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd from his "Pope Mobile" as he arrives to lead a Mass at in the Kidron Valley, facing the Mount of Olives and the site where Christianity says Jesus was arrested, in Jerusalem.

Oded Balilty-AP

May 11: Pope Benedict XVI attends a wreath laying ceremony at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The suffering of Holocaust victims should never be forgotten, denied or belittled, the pope said as he visited the memorial.

Menahem Kahana-AFP/Getty Images

May 11: Pope Benedict XVI shakes hands with holocaust survivors during a ceremony at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Benedict's attempts to ease tensions with Jews after his recent decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust denying bishop appeared to enjoy only partial success. The top two officials at Israel's Holocaust memorial faulted the pope for not apologizing nor using the words "murder" or "Nazis" during a speech at the site.

Luca Van Brantegem-AP

May 11: Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, Rabbi Lau, holds Pope Benedict XVI's hands after presenting him with a facsimile of a painting by Jewish artist Felix Nussbaum, who was murdered in the Holocaust.

Pier Paolo Cito-AP

May 11: Pope Benedict plants an olive tree with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the president's residence in Jerusalem. The pope began the most delicate part of his first trip to the Middle East, landing in Israel for a five-day tour to Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories.

Rina Castelnuovo/Pool-Reuters

May 11: Pope Benedict XVI, center, attends a meeting with a council of religious community leaders in Jerusalem. Benedict called for the world's religions to have mutual respect at a time when globalization and the Internet can become "an instrument of fragmentation."

Yehuda Raizner-AFP/Getty Images

May 10: Pope Benedict XVI, left, sits behind Jordan's national flag during mass at a baptism site near the Jordan River. Pope Benedict on Sunday visited the site on the Jordan River where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, and urged Christians in the Middle East to play a role in seeking peace.

Muhammad Hamed-REUTERS

May 10: Pope Benedict XVI greets a crowd of faithful at the end of his open-air Mass in Amman. Pope Benedict XVI praised the courage of Middle East Christians who cling to their faith despite war and adversity, addressing a crowd of 20,000 that filled a sports stadium where he celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Holy Land pilgrimage on Sunday.

May 10: Pope Benedict XVI waves to worshipers during Sunday Mass at a stadium in Amman. Pope Benedict arrived in Amman on Friday on a tour of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories that will test his diplomatic skills.

Tony Gentile-REUTERS

May 10: Girls wave Jordanian and Vatican flags before Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a Mass in the open-air international stadium in Amman, Jordan. "The Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which affect the people of the Middle East," Benedict said.

May 10: Pope Benedict XVI, right, is seen after arriving at the International Stadium of Amman to celebrate a Holy Mass. Pope Benedict on Sunday urged Middle East Christians to persevere in their faith despite hardships threatening the existence of their ancient communities.

Pier Paolo Cito-AP

May 9: Pope Benedict XVI, right, and Jose Rodriguez Carballo stand beside "The Staff of Moses" during his visit to Mount Nebo near Amman, Jordan. The pope called for reconciliation between Christians and Jews during a visit in Jordan.

Carsten Koall-Getty Images

May 9: Pope Benedict visits Mount Nebo. The pope is on his first trip to the Middle East, which will also include the West Bank and Israel.

Carsten Koall-Getty Images

May 9: Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful during mass at Saint George Victorious Cathedral in Amman, Jordan.

Muhammad Hamed-Reuters

May 9: The pope waves to a crowd, as he is driven past churches, including an Orthodox church famous for its sixth century mosaic map of biblical Palestine, in the Jordanian town of Madaba.

Patrick Baz-AFP/Getty Images

May 9: Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, right, gives Pope Benedict XVI, second from right, a tour of King Hussein Bin Talal mosque, the biggest and newest in Amman, Jordan. The top religious adviser to Jordan's king thanked the pope for expressing regret after a speech that many Muslims deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad but complained the West continues to have a distorted view of Islam.

Nasser Nasser-AP

May 8: Jordan's King Abdullah, right, and his wife, Queen Rania, greet Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jordan on his first visit as pontiff to an Arab state, kicking off an eight-day Holy Land pilgrimage fraught with religious and political challenges.

Alberto Pizzoli-AFP/Getty Images

May 8: Latin Catholic clerics wave after disembarking from Pope Benedict XVI's plane upon his arrival at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan.

Mohammad Abu Ghosh-AP

May 8: Lebanon's Cardinal Nasrallah Sfair kisses the hand of Pope Benedict at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.

Yousef Allan-Reuters

May 8: Jordan's King Abdullah welcomes Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival in Amman.

Ahmed Jadallah-Reuters

May 8: Jordan's King Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania, meet with Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XVI stressed his deep respect for Islam in Jordan, and said that religious freedom is a fundamental human right.

Yussef Allan-AFP/Getty Images

May 8: Believers welcome Pope Benedict XVI on his visit at the Lady of Peace Center in Amman, Jordan. Pope Benedict XVI is on his first trip to the Middle East, which will also include the West Bank and Israel.

Carsten Koall-Getty Images

May 8: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowds upon his arrival to hold a mass at the "Regina Pacis Center" (Lady of Peace Church) in Amman.

Khalil Mazraawi-AFP/Getty Images

May 8: Pope Benedict XVI performs a mass at the "Regina Pacis Center" (Lady of Peace Church) in Amman.

Khalil Mazraawi-AFP/Getty Images

May 8: A nun kisses the hand of Pope Benedict during his visit to the Lady of Peace Church, his first scheduled stop during his visit to Jordan.

Muhammad Hamed-Reuters

Gallery Credits:
Producer, Photo Editor Stephen Cook

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This Story Pope Criticizes Israel On Palestinian Policy Article \| BETHLEHEM, West Bank, May 13 -- Pope Benedict XVI criticized Israel's construction of a security barrier through the West Bank and urged a loosening of restrictions on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a day of speeches and symbolic appearances that amounted to a running critique of Israeli policies... Israelis Criticize Pope For Holocaust Remarks Pope Tries to Build Israeli, Palestinian Bridges Pope Recalls Holocaust Victims at Jerusalem Memorial Papal Diplomacy Pope Visits Holy Sites in Jerusalem Raw Video: Pope Arrives in Israel This Story Personal Trip Carries Weight of Diplomacy Article \| JERUSALEM, May 8 -- Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Amman on Friday for an eight-day visit to Jordan and Israel that he said should be viewed as a personal pilgrimage. Papal Diplomacy Raw Video: Pope Arrives in Jordan This Story Thousands Greet Pope in Nazareth Article \| NAZARETH, Israel, May 14 -- A newly erected concrete spire sliced high into the air over an altar spread beneath, turning a dusty amphitheater here in northern Israel into a church for tens of thousands. Pope Trod Own Path in Mideast Raw Video: Pope Visits Site of Jesus Crucifixion Papal Diplomacy Pope Makes Pilgrimage to Nazareth		TOOLBOX E-Mail This Save/Share + Digg Facebook Reddit Twitter myspace del.icio.us NewsTrust Stumble It! COMMENT 0 Comments Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem. Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this gallery		More on washingtonpost.com • More Photo News » washingtonpost.com
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