Vatican City, 26 June 2015 (VIS) –
The following is a summary of the content of the Agreement between
the Holy See and the State of Palestine, based on the text provided
by L'Osservatore Romano.
The Agreement has a specific nature
that takes into account the legal and political situations that
surround the conflict, and the rules that have gradually built up
over the centuries. The Preamble, which refers to current
international law, frames a series of key points: the
self-determination of the Palestinian people; the objective of the
two-state solution; the meaning, not only symbolic, of Jerusalem, in
terms of its holy character for Jews, Christians and Muslims and its
universal religious and cultural value as heritage for all humanity;
and the Holy See's interests in the Holy Land. The two Parties,
considering their mutual daily relations, indicate in the negotiated
agreement a way of working, together and separately, not only in
defining the condition of the Catholic Church in Palestine but also
for the good of people and institutions. The Agreement is therefore
an instrument for use in the process of attaining that “just and
lasting” peace that may be the result only of an agreement between
the Palestinian and Israeli authorities. The idea that the future of
the Holy Land rests in the hands of the actors present there is
supported by the Holy See's wish to exercise her “educational,
spiritual and moral mission”, but – with reference to and
amplifying the formula of Article 24 of the Lateran Pact, the Holy
See “shall take no part in any temporal rivalries between other
States, nor in any international congresses called to settle such
matters, save and except in the event of such parties making a mutual
appeal to the pacific mission of the Holy See”.
Chapter 2 of the Agreement relates to
the theme of freedom of worship and conscience, exploring its various
dimensions and content, ranging from the civil effects of canonical
marriage, the “customary facilities” for the different rites,
respect for feast days and the right of Christians who work in public
offices to be able comply with the obligation to attend Sunday Mass,
religious assistance for the armed forces and prisoners, and the
right of parents to impart a “religious and moral” education to
their children. The explicit acknowledgement of authentic
conscientious objection as a practice consistent with the right of
freedom of thought, belief and religion is notable for its current
relevance.
The signing of the Agreement urges the
Parties to look to the future without forgetting history and those
events that, on political and legal levels, have outlined the
condition, social fabric and normative order of Palestine, and within
this, the action of the Church, as may be seen in the following
chapters:
Chapter 3, recognising the legal
personality and right to self-organisation of the Church, protects
its internal order, the freedom to confer ecclesiastical office, and
the exemption of clergy from obligatory personal service such as
military service, etc. Confirmation is given of the competence, as
stipulated by Palestinian law, of ecclesiastical tribunals to
exercise civil jurisdiction. The issue, further clarified in chapter
4, also relates to matters such as marriage, filiation and adoption,
following the personal status of Christians in the Holy Land.
Chapter 5, starting from the regime of
the “Status Quo”, lists the nature and typology of the Holy
Places. The concept of holiness – from which that of religious
rights derives – is posited as the source of the obligation of the
civil authorities to respect for the Holy Places the exclusive
authority and canonical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, except
in the case of joint actions to the contrary. The issue is linked to
freedom of worship and the necessary guarantees for pilgrimages and
structures offering hospitality to pilgrims.
Chapter 6 guarantees the Church's right
to work in educational, social, charitable and communications
sectors, and regulates the relationship with the Palestinian legal
system. This is accompanied by general regulations on the freedom to
receive funds and the discretion appropriate to ecclesiastical
institutions with regard to their function and personnel.
Chapter 7 is dedicated entirely to
Church property and the special fiscal regime applicable to them,
inspired by functional criteria of non-liability, issues which due to
their direct link to the local situation and legislation will be the
object of further negotiations and agreements.
The participation of the Palestinian
Catholic community in the lengthy negotiations, which began in a
systematic fashion in 2010, gave the Agreement an added value. The
local Church has been shown to be an effective agent, providing a
valuable contribution not only towards the consolidation of the
ecclesial reality, but also to the image of Palestine and the Holy
Land as a whole.
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