Pope prays for Annapolis summit, urges courage among participants
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged the faithful to pray that the participants at this week's Middle East summit find the "wisdom and courage" necessary to bring peace to the Holy Land.
During his traditional Sunday blessing, Benedict noted that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had called for a day of prayer before the US-sponsored summit to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that opens Tuesday in Annapolis, Maryland.
He asked the faithful to join in the prayer for "peace in a region so dear to us and for the gifts of wisdom and courage for all the protagonists of this important meeting."
He said the meeting hoped to relaunch negotiations "to find a just and definitive solution to the conflict which for 60 years has bloodied the Holy Land and provoked so many tears and suffering among two peoples."