Seven days from today, on the afternoon of Pentecost Sunday, June 8, Pope Francis will meet in prayer at the Vatican with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
God’s desire for peace and God’s moment toward peace shines brilliantly through Pope Francis. This is certainly a new “peace initiative.” This morning I am very proud to be a Catholic.
Many times many voices have invited the two sides to sit down and talk or to come together to negotiate. Never have I heard anyone invite them to do this!
BETHLEHEM – 25.05.2014
Manger Square : Invitation of the Pope to Abbas and Perez
In this, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with President Shimon Peres, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace. I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.
All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. All of us – especially those placed at the service of their respective peoples – have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially by our prayers.
Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment. The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace.
Father Ibrahim Shomali, pastor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Beit Jala (Bethlehem) emailed to me this scanned copy of a two-page letter written to Pope Francis by the Mayor of Beit Jala.
“All the Christian community, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran, we cry to your Holiness with a feeling of despair and urgency in order to keep alive our hope that justice and peace is still possible.”
“Your holiness, we have been left alone facing Israeli aggressions against our defenseless people.”
“Your holiness, your election brought us hope that things would change. We are still hopeful.”
We are a community of faithful, the mother church that still refuses to die and keeps bringing a message of hope when there is no hope.”
May this letter find its way to the eyes and the heart of our beloved Pope Francis.
Click on letter to enlarge and read.
Last Wednesday, April 24, the people of Beit Jala (Bethlehem) – and the few people in the rest of the world who are paying attention – heard the decision of an Israeli Appeal’s Committee that “the Wall” can be built right through another section of Palestinian land: their Cremisan Valley.
Today, April 28, is Palm Sunday in Beit Jala. They begin Holy Week, and will celebrate Easter with the Orthodox Christians on May 5.
This coming week Pope Francis will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was invited by the Holy Father for a visit to the Vatican, among the first of the world leaders who will meet with the new Pope.
This all comes together in these photos, taken today in Beit Jala. The people of Annunciation Catholic parish gathered today, on Palm Sunday, outside their church after Sunday Mass to sign letters to Pope Francis, pleading with him to keep Cremisan high on his agenda when he meets with the Israeli president.
You might find this April 24 article in the Washington Post, “Palestinian Christians hope new pope will help in battle against Israel’s barrier route,” helpful for understanding the present state of the situation.
With Open Doors 
