ARAB-VATICAN RELATIONS - Nov. 17 - Pope Urges Restraint.A joint statement by Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła and visiting Armenian Patriarch patriarch, in the Bible patriarch (pā`trēärk), in biblical tradition, one of the antediluvian progenitors of the race as given in Genesis (e.g., Seth) or one of the ancestors of the Jews (e.g. Karekin II Catholicos Karekin II (Armenian: Գարեգին Բ also Garegin) is the current head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. says: "May the children of Abraham grow in mutual respect and find the proper ways to live peacefully in this holy part of the world". In an earlier written statement to Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Land, the pope called on "those who guide the faithful of Judaism and Islam to use all their energy in faith to make a reality the interior and exterior peace which the people seek". (The Vatican walks a tightrope in the Middle East, caught between its role as a voice for peace around the globe and its own interest in protecting Christian sites in Jerusalem. It has consistently called for Jerusalem to have some type of special international status, with equal access to holy sites for all. The Vatican has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1993, but relations have often been bumpy bump·y adj. bump·i·er, bump·i·est 1. Covered with or full of bumps: a bumpy country road. 2. Marked by bumps and jolts; rough: a bumpy flight. . The church has long criticised Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem East Jerusalem refers to the part of Jerusalem captured by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and subsequently by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. It includes Jerusalem's Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, such as the Temple Mount, Western after the 1967 Middle East war. In 1999, ties were rattled by an Israeli decision to allow Muslims to build a mosque mosque (mŏsk), building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (A.D. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the mosque where the faithful gathered for prayer. in Nazareth next to a Christian holy site. In February 2000, the Vatican signed a pact with the Palestinians that guaranteed access to Christian holy sites and expressed solidarity with Palestinians, "who are still waiting to see their legitimate aspirations realised". Israel reacted angrily to that agreement, especially to the clause that called for international status for the holy sites in Jerusalem. During his March 2000 trip, which the Vatican repeatedly called a personal pilgrimage, the pope sought balance by visiting holy sites of all three religions and meeting with leaders from all three. He went to Palestinian territory as well as Israel and Jordan. The Vatican has served as an "indirect mediator mediator n. a person who conducts mediation. A mediator is usually a lawyer, or retired judge, but can be a non-attorney specialist in the subject matter (like child custody) who tries to bring people and their disputes to early resolution through a conference. " in the new violence. But Amoz Luzzato, head of the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy says the "Vatican faced difficulties acting as a mediator, because as protector of the Christian community in the Holy Land it is an interested party"). |
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