The Pope has just started a three day trip to the Middle East or, to use the equivalent religious jargon, the Holy Land. The Vatican described it as a three-day religious pilgrimage to Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel.
The official theme of the trip, "That they may be one" has symbolical significance. The three religions of the Book, which dominate in the area – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – have had a troublesome relationship throughout history. Besides, Christians in the Holy Land are no example of unity. The different Christian groups have frequent quarrels because of the places that all consider to be most sacred.
The Pope hopes to bring an element of unity between the different religions and particularly between the different Christian groups. His trip is also aimed at bringing hope in a region marred by continuous conflict. Where there is division he hopes to plant unity; where there is hate he hopes to nourish love.
It is not an easy task since everything in the area is both political and divisive.
As everyone wants a particular word from the Pope every word he will utter will be analyzed for political and religious implications. The Jews hope that the Pope will apologise for the anti-Semitism that many Christians championed for a long time. Saint John Paul II had visited Israel in 2000. On that occasion he prayed at the Western Wall and apologized for the church's sins against Jews. Benedict followed suit when he visited Israel in 2009. During a visit to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust, he urged that the names of the victims never perish, be denied or forgotten.
The Pope has had very good relations with Jews in Argentina. In what is considered to be a very important ‘first’, the Pope asked two friends from Argentina to accompany him to the Holy Land, Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud.
Palestinians will analyse the Pope’s speeches and actions hoping that he will say something, however veiled that could be interpreted as a condemnation or, at least, criticism, of Israeli occupation and of the infamous "security wall" that divides their territory and their families in the West Bank.
The conservative ultra-Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, fear that if the Christians strengthen their hold on the holy places in Jerusalem this could infringe on Jewish sacred places like King David's Tomb. "Death to Arabs and Christians and all those who hate Israel," was one of the graffiti scribbled on Churches and mosques.
The relations with the Orthodox Christian are very high up on the Pope’s agenda. The official reason of the trip, which begins in Jordan, is the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians. Relations between Catholics and Orthodox improved a lot after that event.
On Sunday he will meet with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I "to pray for peace in that land, which has suffered so much". The special joint prayer service with Bartholomew will take place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - venerated as the place of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
The trip is also aimed at raising the morale of Christians in the area who have been the target of persecution which pushed many to leave to region. The Vatican hopes the pontiff's trip will buttress the dwindling Christian population of the Middle East.
The trip will be three days. One hopes that after the third day the message of hope, reconciliation and love will rise above the divisive noises and actions which want to keep on entombing them.