Vatican City, 26 June 2015 (VIS) –
Today, Friday 26 June, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, a
Comprehensive Agreement was signed between the Holy See and the State
of Palestine. The accord follows on the Basic Agreement which was
signed between the Holy See and the Palestine Liberation Organisation
(PLO) on 15 February 2000 and is the result of the negotiations
undertaken by a bilateral working commission over the past years.
Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, secretary
for Relations with States, signed on behalf of the Holy See and Riad
Al-Malki, minister of Foreign Affairs, signed for the State of
Palestine.
The following took part in the solemn
act:
For the Holy See: Archbishop Giuseppe
Lazzarotto, apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine; Archbishop
Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio; His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Patriarch
of Jerusalem of the Latins; Mgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary
for the Holy See’s Relations with States; Fr. Lorenzo Lorusso,
O.P., under-secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches;
Mgr. Alberto Ortega, official of the Section for Relations with
States of the Secretariat of State; Mgr. Paolo Borgia, official of
the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State; and Fr.
Oscar Marzo, O.F.M., member of the Custody of the Holy Land and
Official of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
For the State of Palestine: Ramzi
Khoury, advisor to the president and deputy head of the Presidential
Higher Committee on Church Affairs in Palestine; Ambassador Issa
Kassissieh, representative of the State of Palestine to the Holy See;
Ambassador Rawan Sulaiman, assistant foreign minister for
Multilateral Affairs; Vera Baboun, mayor of Bethlehem; Moussa Abu
Hadeed, mayor of Ramallah; Ammar Hijazi, deputy assistant foreign
minister for Multilateral Affairs; Azem Bishara, legal advisor of the
PLO; Ammar Nisnas, counsellor of the diplomatic representation of the
State of Palestine to the Holy See.
The Agreement is comprised of a
preamble and 32 articles distributed in 8 chapters. It deals with
essential aspects of the life and activity of the Catholic Church in
the State of Palestine, while reaffirming support for a negotiated
and peaceful resolution of the situation in the region. It will come
into effect when both Parties have notified each other in writing
that the relevant constitutional or internal requirements have been
met.
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