ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN PEOPLES CALLED TO LIVE TOGETHER

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Pope, sent on November 6 to the Catholic bishops of the Holy Land, in which he expresses his concern for the present situation in the Middle East. Extracts from the text are given below:

"The trials being undergone by the people of the Holy Land at this time are a cause of great suffering to me and I wish to express, to everyone without exception, my most intense solidarity.

"Without doubt, the brutal step from negotiation to confrontation represents a breakdown for peace, yet no one must resign themselves to fatalism: The Israeli and Palestinian peoples are called by history and by geography to live together.

"This cannot be achieved in a peaceful and lasting fashion if fundamental rights are not guaranteed for everyone. Both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people have the right to live in their homes, in dignity and security.

"Only a return to the negotiating table, on the foundation of equality and in respect for international law, can open the way to a future of fraternity and peace for those who live in that blessed land.

"Recalling my pilgrimage there some months ago, my mind turns with emotion to all those places that speak of the history of God with man and that represent a call to collaboration, so that violence, hatred and suspicion may never more disfigure that part of the world.

"I encourage you, Catholic bishops of the Holy Land, and all leaders of Christian communities, to make renewed efforts in order that mutual respect, in humility and trust, may inspire your relationships.

"I also appeal to those who have the mission of guiding the faithful of Judaism and Islam, that they may find in their faith all the energy necessary in order for the internal and external peace to which people aspire to become reality.

"I invite the international community to continue its efforts, helping one another to find solutions that guarantee the longed-for security and tranquility, prerogatives for all nations and preconditions for life and progress in any society."

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