The Vatican's Secretary of State on Thursday defended the Palestinians' right to a "sovereign and independent" homeland and said he hoped Pope Francis's upcoming
visit would lead to "courageous decisions" for peace. "We k**w that the pope is going to a particularly suffering land," Cardinal Pietro Parolin, whose role is equivalent to that of a prime minister, told
Vatican television
ahead of the pope's three-day
visit starting on Saturday. "I really hope that the fruit will be to help politicians and all people of good will take courageous decisions on the path to peace," Parolin said in the interview, which was posted on the website of
Vatican Radio. The pope travels to Jordan first on Saturday where he will meet Syrian refugees, then to Bethlehem in the
Palestinian Territories on Sunday and on to Jerusalem where he will hold a prayer for Christian unity and
visit holy sites.
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