NEW AMBASSADOR FROM ISRAEL PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 18, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today welcomed Yosef Neville Lamdan, Israel's new ambassador to the Holy See. In accepting his Letters of Credence, the Pope remarked on "the vivid experience" of his Jubilee year pilgrimage to the Holy Land, calling it "an extraordinary grace of God."

Highlighting the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews, he said: "A fresh mutual and sincere attempt must be made at every level to help Christians and Jews to know, respect and esteem more fully each other's beliefs and traditions, This is the surest way to overcome the prejudices of the past and to raise a barrier against the forms of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia which are re-appearing in some places today. Today, as always, it is not genuine religious faith and practice which give rise to the tragedy of discrimination and persecution, but a loss of faith and the rise of a selfish and materialistic outlook bereft of true values, a culture of emptiness."

Then, remarking on "the elusive character of a definitive peace in the Middle East," the Pope stated that "the continuation of dialogue and negotiation is itself a significant development." He pointed out that "sometimes the obstacles to peace appear so great and so many that to face them seems humanly impossible. But what seemed unthinkable even a few short years ago now a reality or at least a matter of open discussion, and this must convince all concerned that a solution is possible."
John Paul II turned specifically to "the delicate question of Jerusalem," and told the ambassador that "what is of special concern to the Holy See is that the unique religious character of the Holy City be preserved by a special, internationally guaranteed statute.

"The history and present reality of interreligious relations in the Holy Land is such that no just and everlasting peace is foreseeable without some form of support from the international community," in order to "conserve the cultural and religious patrimony of the Holy City, a patrimony which belongs to Jews. Christians and Muslims."

"What is at stake," concluded the Pope, "is not just the preservation of and free access to the holy places of the three religions, but also the free exercise of the religious and civil rights pertaining to the members, places and activities of the various communities. The end result must be ... a Jerusalem that will truly be a City of Peace for all peoples."

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