Pope Francis organizes Israeli-Palestinian meeting at the Vatican

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Israeli and Palestinian leaders accepted an invitation to the Vatican next month from Pope Francis, who urged the two sides to make sacrifices to achieve peace Sunday during his first visit as pontiff to the Middle East.

"The time has come for everyone to find the courage to be generous and creative in the service of the common good," Francis said at a welcoming ceremony in Bethlehem hosted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "The climate of instability and a lack of mutual understanding have produced insecurity, the violation of rights, isolation and the flight of entire communities, conflicts, shortages and sufferings of every sort."

A festive atmosphere greeted Francis in Bethlehem's Manger Square, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where posters of the pope, called baba in Arabic, hung in every shop window. Riding through the crowd on his way to Mass, the pope was greeted by cheers of Viva al-Baba! or "Long live the pope!"