Pope's Unity Tour
Benedict XVI visits Jerusalem's holy sites.
The Pope has preached religious unity on his tour of the Middle East, and, as he toured Jerusalem's Old City on Tuesday, he's proven to be a man of his word. The German-born Pope fell under criticism on Monday after he spoke at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, where he expressed "deep compassion" for the victims of the Holocaust, but failed to point fingers at the Germans or Nazis. On his tour, the Pope has honored both Muslim and Jewish practices, following Muslim protocol by removing his shoes at the Dome of the Rock shrine, and observing Jewish tradition by placing a prayer in the Wailing Wall. "Here the path of the world's three great monotheistic religions meet, reminding us what they share in common," he said. "I have come to Jerusalem on a journey of faith." Wondered Jerusalem's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger: "If a historical meeting such as this, where the head of the largest religion in the world meets in Jerusalem with the head of the Jewish religion, had taken place many years ago, how much blood would have been spared and senseless hatred prevented."
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