Pope calls for peace as Mideast visit ends

JERUSALEM, May 15 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI ended his Middle East visit Friday visiting the site where it is believed Jesus Christ was crucified and buried before his resurrection.

At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Catholic Church leader told an audience "recrimination and hostility" can be defeated, the BBC reported.

The pontiff was met at the church by representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian churches, which jointly administer the site.

He told the congregation not to lose hope for peace because the resurrection "reassures us that God can make all things new, that history need not be repeated, that memories can be healed, that the bitter fruits of recrimination and hostility can be overcome."

He said he envisioned a future of "justice, peace, prosperity and co-operation ... for the whole human family."