The Vatican’s Secretary of State said that the Holy See’s recognition of a Palestinian state should help, not hinder, the cause of peace in the Middle East.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that “an agreement by which the Palestinian state will be committed to recognizing fundamental rights, including that of freedom of religion and conscience, is a step towards contributing to the development of a country that will be democratic and respectful of diverse religious realities.” The Vatican, he continued, “hopes that the Agreement may in some way contribute to the achievement of lasting peace through a two-state solution.”
In an interview posted by the Vatican Insider, Cardinal Parolin repeated the Vatican’s insistence that an Israeli-Palestinian peace “cannot be done at the expense of the legitimate rights of Israelis and Palestinians.”
Regarding Vatican diplomatic ties with Israel, the Secretary of State reported that the Vatican has repeatedly pressed Israel to incorporate into that nation’s laws the provisions of the Vatican-Israel accords of 1993 and 1997. To date, Israel has not done so, but Cardinal Parolin reported that the Vatican has “received assurances from the Israeli authorities that they would try to remedy this.”
