Both Governments Express Views on Question of Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, JULY 24 (ZENIT.org).- The three Christian Patriarchs of the Holy City began a series of meetings today with Palestinian and Israeli Ministers, to make the voice of Christians of different denominations heard in the current negotiations on the future of Jerusalem.
Yesterday, when commenting on the Camp David negotiations for peace in the Middle East, John Paul II reiterated the Church's position on the issue. "Only an internationally guaranteed special status will be able to preserve the sacred places of the Holy City effectively, and insure liberty of faith and worship for all faithful who, in the region and the whole world" see Jerusalem as "the crossroads of peace and coexistence," the Pope explained.
Twenty-four hours later, Catholic Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Diodoros I, and Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoukian began a meeting with representatives of the two governments involved to evaluate the steps that have been, and could be, taken. This afternoon they met with Palestinian representatives; tomorrow they will meet with Israelis.
Thus, the two executives responded to the letter Christian leaders sent participants in the Camp David summit - U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat - requesting that Christians be able to participate in the negotiations, and opposing the division of Christian neighborhoods of the ancient city between Israelis and Palestinians.
Local and International Dimension A few hours before the meeting with the Palestinian and Israeli Ministers began, the Patriarch Sabbah, explained on Vatican Radio that, the "problem in our country at this time is peace, and this is what Camp David is attempting to build."
According to the Patriarch, in the search for peace, two dimensions of Jerusalem must be kept in mind: the local and international. "At the local level, Palestinian Christians belong to Palestine, and Israel's Christians belong to Israel. However, we also see an international aspect: Jerusalem is Christian for the entire Christian world, as it is Jewish for the entire Jewish world, and Muslim for the Muslim world. Therefore, Jerusalem must have special status. In the political solution being sought, it is necessary that this world dimension of the city, both religious and cultural, be kept in mind and respected."
"We believe that Jerusalem's local dimension cannot be separated from its world dimension. At the local level, the local Church as an institution looks for peace. From this point of view, we see that there will be no peace, or at least it will not be a lasting peace, if Palestinian Jerusalem has Palestinian sovereignty, and Israeli Jerusalem Israeli sovereignty," Patriarch Sabbah said. If this type of solution is adopted, it runs the risk, for example, of the faithful of one religion not being able to visit their holy places."
In a word, the Patriarch asked that "the world dimension of Jerusalem be taken into consideration, at the moment of constructing peace, in the presence of two local political sovereignties."
Historic Meeting The Latin Patriarch acknowledged that the meetings, which began today, with the two executives are truly historic, as it is the first time that the Christians' point of view has been kept in mind. "The Church has been speaking for some time, we at the local level and the Vatican at the world level, but this is the first time that the political authorities have asked us for our point of view on the question of Jerusalem."
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