Papal Representative Attends Cairo Meeting
CAIRO, SEPTEMBER 3 (ZENIT.org).- Sources of the Arab League report that from September 3-4, the League's Council is meeting in Cairo to discuss Jerusalem's future status, the most delicate question at present in the Middle East peace process.
There are 22 Foreign Ministers of Arab States associated with the League who are attending the meeting. The League is a political, economic, and military alliance established in 1945 to co-ordinate the activities of these countries and to settle disputes.
A Vatican observer has been designated to participate in the sessions for the first time in the League's history. The Pope's delegate at this Arab meeting is Archbishop Paolo Giglio, Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt. In statements over Vatican Radio, Archbishop Giglio explained that to date the Vatican has maintained relations with many Arab countries, "which we consider as friends." However, up until now there had never been a Holy See representative to the Arab League.
Archbishop Giglio will participate in the meeting as an "observer." He will not have the right to vote. However, the meeting will give him the opportunity to establish contacts with representatives of these countries and "explain the Holy See's opinion on the thorny problem of Jerusalem."
The Vatican asks that the Holy City be given "special status," guaranteed by the international community, not only to preserve freedom of worship but also free access to the sacred places for believers of the three great monotheist religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
However, this Vatican proposal is not political. The Holy See does not wish to meddle in questions of territorial sovereignty. That, as the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Jean Louis Tauran, explains, must be resolved by the negotiations taking place between Israel and the National Palestinian Authority.
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