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During his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the pope of surprises gave the world an unexpected powerful message.
On his way to celebrate Mass in Bethlehem, Pope Francis suddenly got out of his popemobile and walked toward the towering concrete Israeli-built barrier that divides Israel from the Israeli occupied territory of the West Bank.
Pope prays for world without walls
In a highly symbolic scene, with Israeli soldiers in a tower above him, Pope Francis touched the separation wall and prayed with head bowed at precisely the spot where spray-painted messages cry out, “Pope we need some 1 to speak about Justice Bethlehem look like Warsaw ghetto” and “Free Palestine.” Then he touched his forehead to the wall.
“This wall is a sign of division, that something is not functioning right,” said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. And Pope Francis’ prayer there “signifies for me his desire for peace, for a world without walls.”