Pope, Netanyahu talk Middle East peace

(By Sandra Cordon) (ANSA) – Vatican City, December 2 – Peace in the Middle East “as soon as possible” was high on the agenda during a meeting Monday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis inside the Vatican.

During their 25-minute meeting, Netanyahu presented the pope with the Spanish translation of a book about the Inquisition which had been written by his father, the Vatican press office reported. “The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain,” published in 1995, was written by Benzion Netanyahu an Israeli historian who died last year.

Inside, the Israeli prime minister had inscribed: “To His Holiness Pope Francis, the great guardian of our common heritage,” according to the press office communiqu