At a press conference at Jerusalem's Notre Dame Center, Archbishop
Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem, and Archbishop Antonio Franco,
apostolic nuncio- 20 May 2009

- The two Church leaders said that they are convinced that Benedict XVI's
pilgrimage to the Holy Land was a success
- Archbishop Twal highlighted the importance of the Pope coming to the Holy
Land as a pilgrim. With this, "he has wanted to encourage Christians from
around the world to follow his example and come on pilgrimage to the
Holy Land to pray, to come into contact with the local communities, to
pray with us and for us, to pray together for peace and for all the inhabitants
of the region."
- Archbishop Franco emphasized that also as the leader of a state, Benedict
XVI gave an important message to the Middle East: "The Holy Father has
very clearly retraced Israel's right to live in security in their own country.
That the right of Israel be recognized and that also there be recognition of
the right of the Palestinians to have a homeland, a state, such that a stable
peace comes to this part of the world,"

Bishop Bernard Podvin spokesman of the Conference of Bishops of
France - May 25, 2009

- “We retain as essential points from this trip, the reaffirmation made by
Benedict XVI of the interreligious dialogue, his rejection without appeal,
of any anti-Semitism, his profound respect for Judaism and Islam, his
support for refugees from the war, his desire that the right of the Palestinian
people is recognized, his condemnation of terrorism from wherever it comes”
- “… the students who are preparing for the pilgrimage in next July (21-30)
will link their pilgrimage with the spiritual journey of the Pope: The
students will be accompanied by twenty French: bishops.”
Cardinal André Vingt-Trois Archbishop of Paris:
- The cardinal qualified The pilgrimage of Benedict XVI as a “success”

- Cardinal Vingt-Trois sees that the success of this "historic" trip was essentially
due to the fruits brought by the pilgrimage of John Paul II in 2000.

The Cardinal Walter Kasper President of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unit and the Commission for Religious Relations
with Judaism
-

 In an article published May 27 in L'Osservatore Romano, the Cardinal
Kasper spoke about the "very difficult" but also “very moving and
important trip” of Benedict XVI in the Holy Land.
- Regarding the criticism heard after the pope’s address in Yad Vashem, the
cardinal said that too much importance should not be attributed to that
criticism. Many Jews showed benevolence towards the Pope, and this
fact was evident when, during the inter-religious meeting in Nazareth, a
rabbi outside the program, spontaneously sang a song with the words'
shalom, salam ', to which all joined .”

Rt. Rev. Giampaolo Crepaldi President of the International Observatory
Cardinal Van Thuân for the social Doctrine of the Church

- Benedict XVI’s visit in the Holy Land proved most fruitful: specified were the
terms of inter-religious dialogue with Islam, strengthened were the bonds of
friendship with Jews, and the Holy Father made it clear that deep in his heart
were both Israelis and Palestinians, while at the same time he encouraged the
frail Christian communities in the Middle East.

Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office

- Benedict XVI accomplished the mission he had proposed in the Holy Land: to
make peace resound in the religious, social and political spheres.
- According to Father Lombardi, the Holy Father went to the Holy Land as a
pilgrim, but not just to visit the holy places of Christianity: "He also visited
those of Judaism and Islam: Yad Vashem, the Western Wall, the Dome of the
Rock. He made the sentiments of all three religions his own, and for this reason
asked to come to the holy places. A Christian Pope, but a Pope for all, beyond
the divisions. An example to follow.”