Pope Francis will receive an especially warm welcome from Palestinian Christians in the region, and in Bethlehem in particular, where their numbers have declined so dramatically since the start of this century I was nine years old when Paul VI visited the Holy Land. Our school marched us out to the main Jerusalem-Bethlehem road to greet him. Bethlehem was part of Jordan then; three years later Israel occupied the West Bank and we have lived under Israeli occupation since. The next Pope I saw was John Paul II, who visited a partially-freed Bethlehem in 2000. By then, Israeli troops had left major populated areas and were stationed in bases close to the controversial settlements encircling Bethlehem and stunting its growth.When Pope Francis visits Bethlehem, he will see an even more restri