Pope praises Palestinian leader as ‘angel of peace’
Pope Francis praised Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, as an “angel of peace” during a meeting at the Vatican on Saturday.
The Vatican also expressed hope that Israel and the Palestinians would resume talks “to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict” that has roiled the Middle East for decades.
The encounter came days after the Vatican announced that it would sign a treaty recognizing the “ state of Palestine,” tacitly endorsing the Palestinians’ bid for sovereignty.
Abbas is in Rome for Sunday’s canonization of two Arab nuns who lived in Ottoman-ruled Palestine in the 19th century.
Abbas also met with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and “great satisfaction was expressed” over the bilateral accord reached on Wednesday, which concerns “various essential aspects of the life and the activity of the Catholic Church” in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, the Vatican said in a statement.
The treaty will be signed “in the near future,” the Vatican statement said.
The Vatican reiterated its hope that “Israelis and Palestinians may take with determination courageous decisions to promote peace.”
Interfaith dialogue was also emphasized as a means to combat terrorism in the Middle East.
Abbas’ meeting with the pope ended with an exchange of gifts. The pope gave Abbas a medallion that he said depicted an angel of peace “destroying the bad spirit of war.” It was appropriate, the pope added, since “you are an angel of peace.”
Abbas gave the pope relics of the two new saints.
Source: www.dispatch.com