Historic peace prayer

Pope Francis brought together Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, to pray for peace in the Middle East at a special ceremony at the Vatican. The highly-anticipated prayer service began at 7 p.m. local time (1700 UTC) and was held in a private garden on Vatican grounds.

Delegations from each faith group led a prayer in chronological order of their founding – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – and in their respective native languages. Their respective leaders were then scheduled to address the group. The spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, Pope joins Orthodox patriarch in historic prayer for unityPatriarch Bartholomew was also in attendance.

The pope called on the two presidents to find "the strength to persevere in undaunted dialogue."

"Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare," Pope Francis said. "We have heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word 'brother.'"

The head of the Roman Catholic Churchalso said in his remarks on Sunday that he hoped the prayer ceremony would mark "a new journey" toward peace.

Earlier in the day, the Vatican dismissed any political motives behind the historic coming together of the two leaders, who haven't met publicly in roughly a year. Pope Francis held a closed-door meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders soon after their arrival, ahead of the ceremony, however it was not clear was had been discussed.

Leaders call for solutions

Ahead of the ceremony, the two Middle Eastern leaders stressed their wish for an end to the strife plaguing their respective populations and continuously disrupting efforts toward political stability.

Israeli Prime Minister Peres' office said he would "call upon leaders of all faiths to work together to ensure that religion and the name of the Lord will not be used to justify bloodshed and terror."

In an interview published on Sunday, his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica: "Nothing should stop the search for solutions so that each of our peoples can live in a sovereign state."

US-led peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians broke down in April after diplomats failed to agree on an outline for negotiations by the appointed deadline.

Diplomacy further deteriorated soon after when Palestinian President Abbas agreed to form a unity government with the Hamas. The Islamist group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, took power in the Gaza strip following elections in 2007. In response to the decision, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu suspended peace talks, saying the political unification would "strengthen terrorism" against Israel.

Progress during the span of the negotiations has been marked by an unwillingness on both governments' parts to accept key preconditions. Israel, for its part, has continued approving settlements for disputed territories. Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders have continued to refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

kms/dr (AP, AFP, Reuters)