NAZARETH, Israel (AP) _ Pope Benedict is in Jesus’ boyhood town of Nazareth today.
After celebrating Mass at the site where tradition says Nazarenes tried to throw Jesus off a cliff, Benedict is visiting the Church of the Annunciation, revered as the site where the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she would give birth to Jesus.
While in Nazareth, the pope also is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yesterday, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Benedict called for a Palestinian state, as he mixed prayer and politics at Jesus’ birthplace and expressed solidarity with Palestinians at a refugee camp.
But he urged young people in particular to “have the courage to resist any temptation to resort to acts of violence or terrorism.”