After diplomacy, Pope Francis turns to prayer with Israel and Palestine
Kevin Rafferty on Vatican's plans to host Israeli and Palestinian leaders
Pope Francis is either the bravest man in the world or the most foolhardy - a man of angelic daring or a fool entering a fray where even battle-hardened politicians fear to tread.
On his whirlwind trip to the Holy Land in the last week, he showed his sympathy with the Palestinians, prayed at Jerusalem's Western Wall, publicly mourned Jewish Holocaust victims and invited the presidents of Israel and Palestine to the Vatican to pray with him for peace.
Does this offer a real chance for peace in these troubled lands? That is probably taking optimism too far.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has worked tirelessly, travelled extensively and got nowhere. President Barack Obama came to office with admirable, Nobel Peace Prize-winning dreams, but last month gave up on US hopes of being a catalyst for peace. He conceded that, "we haven't seen the political will to actually make tough decisions".
Others, including former World Bank president James Wolfensohn and former British prime minister Tony Blair, have tried and failed to facilitate peace between Israel and Palestine.
The churlish response to the pope's gestures suggests that Francis had also better pray for divine help.
Francis will get his meeting at least. Both Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to visit the Vatican. But at least one newspaper cynically wrote of "papal propaganda poker".