[NYer]

AP - Sun Apr 9, 10:12 AM ET

Faithful gather in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during the Palm Sunday Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, Sunday, April 9, 2006. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church's Holy Week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

AP - Sun Apr 9, 2:12 PM ET

Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful during an open air Mass to celebrate Palm Sunday in St. Peter's square, the Vatican, Sunday, April 9, 2006. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church's Holy Week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

[NYer]

AP - Sun Apr 9, 9:06 AM ET Youths carry the World Youth Day's Cross during the Palm Sunday open-air Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, in St. Peter's square the Vatican, Sunday, April 9, 2006. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church's Holy Week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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[the invisib1e hand]

This year's Holy Week will likely be bittersweet for many Roman Catholics

Can always count on AP to try to rain on a Catholic's parade.

[trisham]

Benedict told them that for many, the cross on which Christ was crucified signified only his death and sacrifice. "But Palm Sunday tells us that ... it is the cross that is the true tree of life," he said, calling the cross a symbol of poverty, peace and the universality of the church.

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I love this Pope.