From left, President Shimon Peres of Israel, Pope Francis and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in the Vatican gardens last year. (photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Vatican Officially Recognizes Palestinian State
By
Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
13 May 15
he Vatican officially recognized the state of
Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire
and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects.
The treaty, which concerns the activities of the
Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has
switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization
to the state of Palestine.
The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N.
General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is
the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian
state and constitutes official diplomatic recognition.
"Yes, it's a recognition that the state
exists," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
The Israeli foreign ministry said it was
"disappointed" by the development.
"This move does not promote the peace process and
distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral
negotiations," the ministry said in a text message. "Israel will
study the agreement and will consider its steps accordingly."
The treaty was finalized days before Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas visits Pope Francis at the Vatican. Abbas is heading to
Rome to attend Francis' canonization Sunday of two new saints from the Holy
Land.
The Vatican has been referring unofficially to the
state of Palestine for at least a year.
During Pope Francis' 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the
Vatican's official program referred to Abbas as the president of the
"state of Palestine." In the Vatican's latest yearbook, the
Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See is listed as representing
"Palestine (state of)."
The Vatican's foreign minister, Monsignor Antoine
Camilleri, acknowledged the change in status, given that the treaty was
initially inked with the PLO and is now being finalized with the "state of
Palestine." But he said the shift was simply in line with the Holy See's
position.
This isn't the first time that the Vatican under
Francis has taken diplomatic moves knowing that it would ruffle feathers: Just
last month, Francis referred to the slaughter of Armenians by Turkish Ottomans
a century ago as a "genocide," prompting Turkey to recall its
ambassador.
© 2015 Reader Supported News
Pope: God will judge you on whether you cared for Earth
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press May 12, 2015
2015-05-13T06:10:36Z
NICOLE WINFIELD The_Associated_Press
Pope Francis walks in procession as he arrives to celebrate a Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the occasion on the opening of the Caritas
Internationalis General Assembly, Tuesday. During his homily, Francis warned
that God will judge the powerful on how well they cared for the environment.
ALESSANDRA TARANTINO — AP
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned the rich and powerful on Tuesday that
God will judge them on whether they fed the poor and cared for the Earth, his
latest exhortation on the environment ahead of his eagerly awaited encyclical
on climate change and its effects on the world’s most vulnerable.
Francis delivered the warning during a Mass for the Vatican’s Caritas
Internationalis charity.
In his homily, Francis said the planet has enough food to feed the world
but “it seems that there is a lack of willingness to share it with everyone.”
“We must do what we can so that everyone has something to eat. But we must
also remind the powerful of the Earth that God will call them to judgment one
day,” he said. “And there it will be revealed if they really tried to provide
for him in every person, and if they did what they could to preserve the
environment so that it could produce this food.”
No papal document in recent times has produced as much anticipation or
anxiety as Francis’ encyclical, which is expected next month. Environmentalists
are thrilled that Francis is lending his moral authority to provide an ethical
foundation for action to stem climate change. Conservatives, including many
Christians, have criticized Francis for wading into the politically charged
climate debate.
On Tuesday, one of Francis’ key advisers, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez
Maradiaga, said he was stunned by the complaints he had heard during a trip to
the United States over a papal document that hasn’t even been published yet. He
accused those fueling it of an ideology “that is very strongly linked to a
vision of capitalism that doesn’t want to renounce damaging the environment for
the sake of profits.”
Francis has said global warming is “mostly” man-made and that humanity has
a moral duty to stop it.
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/05/12/3788694_pope-god-will-judge-you-on-whether.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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