Pope heads to Jordan on a Middle East tour he calls a pilgrimage of peace

September 19th, 2009 Pope: Bishops to discuss Middle East next yearVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special meeting of bishops next year to discuss Middle East peace efforts and the role of the Catholic Church in the region. Addressing bishops and patriarchs from Eastern rite churches, Benedict said Saturday that the meeting will take place Oct.

May 14th, 2009 Pope brings his Holy Land pilgrimage to NazarethNAZARETH, Israel — Thousands of pilgrims from around the world are on hand to greet Pope Benedict XVI in Jesus' childhood hometown of Nazareth, where he will celebrate the largest Mass of his five-day visit to the Holy Land. Thursday's Mass is being celebrated on Mount Precipice, where Christian tradition says a mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.

May 11th, 2009 Pope calls mosque visit highlight of Jordan tripAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians and Muslims on Monday to work toward religious tolerance and said his visit to a Jordan's largest mosque was one of the highlights so far of his first Middle East pilgrimage. During a red-carpet farewell ceremony at Amman's international airport, the pope also praised Jordan's King Abdullah II for his treatment of the desert country's tiny Christian minority.

May 11th, 2009 Pope arrives in Israel for 5-day visitTEL AVIV, Israel — Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Israel on an emotion-charged visit to the Holy Land hoping to improve relations with Jews and Muslims. Benedict landed at Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv on Monday after spending three days in neighboring Jordan.

May 11th, 2009 Pope calls for Palestinian state in IsraelTEL AVIV, Israel — Pope Benedict XVI has called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, immediately plunging into Middle East politics upon his arrival in Israel. That position could put him at odds with his Israeli hosts.

May 10th, 2009 Pope urges Middle East Christians to persevereAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI urged Middle East Christians Sunday to persevere in their faith despite hardships threatening their ancient communities, addressing a crowd of 20,000 people who filled a sports stadium where he celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Holy Land pilgrimage. The pope was welcomed at the stadium in Arabic by the Latin rite patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, who recalled that Jordan has taken in more than 1 million Iraqi refugees since the start of the war, some 40,000 of them Christians.

May 10th, 2009 Pope praises Mideast Christians for perseveringAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI praised Sunday the courage of Middle East Christians who cling to their faith despite war and adversity, addressing a crowd of 20,000 who filled a sports stadium where he celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Holy Land pilgrimage. For years, the church has been alarmed by the declining presence of Christians in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, ancient communities driven out by conflict and poverty.

May 10th, 2009 Pope celebrates mass in sports stadium in JordanAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating an open air mass in a sports stadium in the Jordanian capital. Catholics from across the Middle East are attending the service.

May 10th, 2009 Pope leads open-air Mass in Amman stadiumAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the first open-air Mass of his Middle East trip Sunday, drawing Catholics from Iraq and other Christian communities across the region. As many as 20,000 people attended the service in a sports stadium on Benedict's third-day in Jordan.

May 9th, 2009 Pope arrives at Mount Nebo in JordanAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI has arrived at Mount Nebo, where the Bible says Moses saw the Promised Land. The sun broke through the morning mist just before the pope arrived Saturday at the wind-swept hill overlooking the Jordan valley.

May 9th, 2009 Pope: Church and Jews share 'inseparable bond'AMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that his visit to the Middle East was a reminder of the "inseparable bond" between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, a relationship that has been strained at times under his leadership. The pope spoke from Mount Nebo, the wind-swept hill overlooking the Jordan valley from where the Bible says Moses saw the Promised Land.

May 9th, 2009 Jordan: Official thanks pope for his 'regret'AMMAN, Jordan — The top religious adviser to Jordan's king thanked Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday for his expression of "regret" after a 2006 speech that many Muslims deemed insulting to Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Prince Ghazni bin Mohammed spoke after giving Benedict a tour of the biggest and newest mosque in Jordan's capital, Amman, his second visit to a Muslim place of worship since becoming pope in 2005.

May 8th, 2009 Pope hopes church can play role in Mideast peaceAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI said Friday he hopes the Catholic church can play a role in the Middle East peace process as he began his first trip to the region with a stop in Jordan, where he hopes to improve frayed ties with Muslims. The pope rankled many in the Muslim world with a 2006 speech in which he quoted a Medieval text that characterized some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith." The pope has already said he was "deeply sorry" over the reaction to his speech and that the passage he quoted did not reflect his own opinion.

May 3rd, 2009 Jordan hotel owner agonizes over what to feed popeAMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian hotel owner preparing a lunch for the pope spent five weeks coming up with a choice of five menus for the upcoming visit and is still agonizing over what could go wrong — just as he did when John Paul II visited nine years ago. Said Sawalha said the Vatican chose a light meal of beef medallions, vegetables and pineapple cake, a menu designed to keep the 81-year-old Benedict XVI's energy up on his Holy Land tour starting later this week in Jordan.

May 2nd, 2009 Pope: I go to Holy Land as 'pilgrim of peace'VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that he is going to the Holy Land next week as a pilgrim of peace in a region marked by injustice, mistrust and fear. Benedict's eight-day pilgrimage, which begins Friday, will take him to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.