Vatican City, 26 May 2014 (VIS) –
Pope Francis and the president of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres,
met this morning in the Presidential Palace. It was a very cordial
private meeting during which the Holy Father commented that he would
like to invent a new Beatitude, “one I can apply to myself today:
'Blessed is he who enters the house of a wise and good man”. They
then left the building for the palace gardens to plant an olive tree
together as a symbol of peace. This was followed by the public
meeting, which took place on a specially installed stage, in the
presence of around a hundred children of various religions.
“I am grateful to you, Mr President,
for your kind and sage words of greeting and your warm welcome”,
said the Holy Father. “I am happy to be able to meet you once
again, this time in Jerusalem, the city which preserves the Holy
Places dear to the three great religions which worship the God who
called Abraham. The Holy Places are not monuments or museums for
tourists, but places where communities of believers daily express
their faith and culture, and carry out their works of charity.
Precisely for this reason, their sacred character must be perpetually
maintained and protection given not only to the legacy of the past
but also to all those who visit these sites today and to those who
will visit them in the future. May Jerusalem be truly the City of
Peace! May her identity and her sacred character, her universal
religious and cultural significance shine forth as a treasure for all
mankind! How good it is when pilgrims and residents enjoy free access
to the Holy Places and can freely take part in religious
celebrations”.
“Mr President, you are known as a man
of peace and a peacemaker”, he continued. “I appreciate and
admire the approach you have taken. Peacemaking demands first and
foremost respect for the dignity and freedom of every human person,
which Jews, Christians and Muslims alike believe to be created by God
and destined to eternal life. This shared conviction enables us
resolutely to pursue peaceful solutions to every controversy and
conflict. Here I renew my plea that all parties avoid initiatives and
actions which contradict their stated determination to reach a true
agreement and that they tirelessly work for peace, with decisiveness
and tenacity”.
“There is likewise the need for a
firm rejection of all that is opposed to the cultivation of peace and
respectful relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims. We think,
for example, of recourse to violence and terrorism, all forms of
discrimination on the basis of race or religion, attempts to impose
one’s own point of view at the expense of the rights of others,
anti-Semitism in all its possible expressions, and signs of
intolerance directed against individuals or places of worship, be
they Jewish, Christian or Muslim”.
He recalled that “a variety of
Christian communities live and work in the State of Israel. They are
an integral part of society and participate fully in its civic,
political and cultural affairs. Christians wish, as such, to
contribute to the common good and the growth of peace; they wish to
do so as full-fledged citizens who reject extremism in all its forms
and are committed to fostering reconciliation and harmony. The
presence of these communities and respect for their rights – as for
the rights of all other religious groups and all minorities – are
the guarantee of a healthy pluralism and proof of the vitality of
democratic values as they are authentically embodied in the daily
life and workings of the State”.
“Mr President”, he concluded, “you
know that I pray for you and I know that you are praying for me, and
I assure you of my continued prayers for the institutions and the
citizens of the State of Israel. I likewise assure you of my constant
prayer for the attainment of peace and all the inestimable goods
which accompany it: security, tranquillity, prosperity and – the
most beautiful of all – fraternity. Finally, my thoughts turn to
all those afflicted by the continuing crises in the Middle East. I
pray that their sufferings may soon be alleviated by an honourable
resolution of hostilities. Peace be upon Israel and the entire Middle
East! Shalom!”.
The Pontiff, following the meeting,
continued his visit at the Pontifical Institute “Notre Dame of
Jerusalem Centre”, a centre of the Augustine Fathers of the
Assumption of France, which welcomes pilgrims to the Holy Land and is
considered as an ecumenical centre and territorial prelature, whose
prelate is the Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. Here he
received in private audience the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin
Netanyahu.
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