Whispers in the loggia: In Bethlehem, Two Messages: Tear Down This Wall... and Build Up The World

Fourteen months into the new Rule of Francis, it's well beyond clear that this pontificate's most resonant moments of communication come without words... well, with a few exceptions. And even if this Sunday's schedule has another seven hours ahead of it, already today, we've seen potent proof of both.



Along those lines, at the start of Day Two of a Holy Land trip whose set plans were rich in symbolism – and one whose announced schedule was parsed to the core – while en route to the late-morning Mass at Bethlehem's Manger Square, the Pope suddenly halted his motorcade, stepped off the Jeep, and caused a chaotic moment as he waded through a crowd to stop and pray for several minutes at the barrier separating Israel and Palestine as an advocate for the latter blared their case over loudspeakers in English.



Here, the Vatican video:





by Rocco Palmo via Whispers in the Loggia