HOLY LAND

Pope Lands in Israel

Pledges to memorialize Holocaust after scandal over antisemitic priests.

Under heavy scrutiny after a scandal over the reinstatement of four Holocaust denier priests, Pope Benedict struck a conciliatory tone in his first speech in Israel, emphasizing the importance of memorializing the Jewish people's suffering. "Tragically, the Jewish people have experienced the terrible circumstances of ideologies that deny the fundamental dignity of every human person," the Pope said after arriving in Israel. "I will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Shoah and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude." He also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where he said he hoped for a "climate of greater trust" between the parties that could allow for peace negotiations to take root.