POPE JOHN PAUL ASKS INTERNATIONAL STATUTE FOR JERUSALEM

VATICAN CITY, JUL 23, 2000 (VIS) - In remarks made following the angelus prayer today at Castelgandolfo, Pope John Paul II said that "for a number of days now, at Camp David in the United States of America, talks have been underway to reach an agreement which could contribute to definitively establishing peace in the Middle East.

"For my part," he continued, "I wish to accompany these negotiations, which certainly are not easy, with prayer and encouragement, inviting the leaders to pursue their efforts and hoping that they will be always animated by the sincere desire for respect of law and justice for everyone and for reaching a just and lasting peace."

John Paul II then "invited the parties involved not to overlook the importance of the spiritual dimension of the city of Jerusalem, with its Holy Places and the communities of the three monotheistic religions which surround them. The Holy See continues to believe that only an internationally guaranteed special statute can effectively preserve the most sacred parts of the Holy City and assure the freedom of faith and worship for all the faithful who, in the region and throughout the world, look to Jerusalem as a crossroads of peace and co-existence."

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