Pope Francis meets Israeli President Shimon Peres (left) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) for a group prayer session and private peace talks in the Vatican Gardens on June 8, 2014. The three leaders were joined by the Orthodox Christian leader Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I. Francis proposed the meeting last month during his visit to Israel and the West Bank. Photo by Eric Vandeville/ABACAPRESS.COM