Philip Pullella and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

Pope Francis Kicks Off Middle East Visit Fraught With Danger for Israel

(Reuters) — Pope Francis called for urgent steps to end Syria’s three-year-old civil war as he arrived in neighboring Jordan on Saturday, starting a Middle East trip aimed at bringing hope to the region’s dwindling Christian population. Addressing Jordan’s King Abdullah on his first visit as pope to the Holy Land, Francis praised the Western-backed…