Pope Benedict last Friday ventured into the political, cultural and religious minefield of the Middle East, starting a trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories that may prove his most difficult yet.
"Both the political and the Church situation in the Middle East are anything but easy," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, whose office includes the Vatican department on relations with Jews.
"A balance will have to be found between the Pope's encounter with Israel and the Jews on the one hand, and with the Christians, who for the most part live in the Palestinian territories, on the other. A difficult task - but all the more necessary for that," he told a German Catholic news agency.
The trip between May 8 and 15 started in Jordan, where the Pope met King Abdullah, who has been active in Middle East peace efforts and has stressed that Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders must play a leading role in achieving a settlement.
After more than three days in Jordan, the real Papal tightrope walk begins when the Pope moves on to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Communion in the hand mandated in US
Amid growing concern about a potential swine flu pandemic, the archdiocese of Baltimore, and the dioceses of Fresno, Portland (Maine), and Brownsville are either urging or mandating that Holy Communion be distributed only in the hand. These dioceses - and several others - are also mandating or recommending that Holy Communion be distributed under only one species.
Help the poor despite financial crisis
"At moments such as these (financial crisis) it is tempting to overlook those without a voice and think only of our own difficulties. As Christians, we are aware, however, that especially when times are difficult we must work even harder to ensure that the consoling message of Our Lord is heard," the Pope told members of the US-based Papal Foundation during a meeting on May 2 at the Vatican.
The Papal Foundation was established in 1990 and has given more than $54 million in grants. In the midst of the financial crisis, the Pope told the benefactors, "rather than turning in on ourselves, we must continue to be beacons of hope, strength and support for others, most especially those who have no one to watch over or assist them".
John Paul's sense of humour
Pope John Paul II sang and made jokes even at the end of his life, said a Polish archbishop who was one of the Pope's personal secretaries. "The Pope loved to laugh and could play innocent pranks," said Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, Archdiocese of Lviv, Ukraine. "He wasn't exuberant and he preferred to listen rather than talk. But he also noticed when you'd had a hard day or were in bad mood. He would wink at you and smile."
"The Pope liked Tuesdays best", wrote Mgr Mokrzycki, commenting about life with Pope John Paul. He said that on Tuesdays during the papacy, the Pope often would make discreet, unreported excursions outside Rome. He rose regularly at 5 a.m. to watch sunrise and "also liked sunset, during which he often cut himself off and became immersed in prayer," he revealed.
Compiled by Fr Joe Borg