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Vatican City, Jan 11, 2017 / 08:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' private audience with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas this Jan. 14 will be a delicate diplomatic moment for the Holy See.
 
Mahmoud Abbas heads to Rome to inaugurate the new Palestinian embassy to the Holy See, one year after the Holy See-Palestine agreement took effect and made official the Holy See's recognition of the State of Palestine.
 
This visit will prove how Vatican diplomacy is able to walk a thin line. The Holy See is in dialogue with both Palestine and Israel. It has been criticized by the Israeli state for the recognition of the State of Palestine that was part of the comprehensive agreement.
 
However, it would be wrong to think that the Holy See's position is imbalanced. At a recent Catholic-Jewish joint meeting, the Holy See backed a final document that implicitly criticized a UNESCO resolution that failed to call by their Hebrew names some of the most sacred places of Jerusalem, like Temple Mount.
 
At root, the Holy See does not officially take any stance for one party or the other. Rather, it looks attentively to the events in the Holy Land and advocates for a peaceful solution of the conflict.
 
Yet in his speech delivered to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See Jan. 9, Pope Francis underscored that the Holy See renewed its urgent appeal for the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians towards “a stable and enduring solution that guarantees the peaceful coexistence of two states within internationally recognized borders.”

“No conflict can become a habit impossible to break. Israelis and Palestinians need peace,” the Pope said. “The whole Middle East urgently needs peace!”
 
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced his upcoming visit to Rome in a message delivered to Palestinians on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.

In the message, Abbas stressed that the meeting with Pope Francis will zero in on “the advancement of justice and peace in the region, as well as encouraging interfaith dialogue towards more understanding and respect.”
 
The Palestinian president also said that he and the Pope will “reiterate our strong position that no Holy Book should be used as an excuse or to justify the commitment of any kind of crimes or violations.” Another of the main topics of the meeting will be “the historic agreement between the State of Palestine and the Holy See as an example for the rest of the region on how to strengthen the presence of Christians and their institutions.”

“Christians are the salt of this earth, and we don’t conceive a Middle East without its indigenous Christians,” Abbas said. “We will continue to cooperate with the heads of Churches in Jerusalem, who are part of Palestine and its people, to advance these mutual goals.”
 
The Holy See-Palestine agreement was signed June 26, 2015 and came into effect Jan. 1. The agreement, in 32 articles, recognizes freedom of religion in Palestine and outlines the rights and obligations of the Church, its agencies and its personnel in the territory. The agreement also backed the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
When the agreement was officially announced, the Israeli foreign ministry deemed the treaty to be a “hasty step” that “damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the Palestinian Authority to return to direct negotiations with Israel.” It stressed its view that the agreement’s provisions “do not take into account Israel's essential interests and the special historic status of the Jewish people in Jerusalem.”
 
The issue of the historic status of Jewish people in Jerusalem was also raised in a UNESCO resolution Oct. 13, 2016. The resolution, put forward by the Palestinians and six Muslim countries, protests Israel’s actions in and around the Temple Mount and against Muslims praying or seeking to pray there.
 
However, none of the places involved was named with its Hebrew name. Temple Mount is called “al-Haram al-Sharif,” meaning “Noble Sanctuary,” while The Western Wall plaza is named in quotation marks, and indicates its name as “al Buraq Plaza.”
 
The resolution drew no Vatican comment. As a source within the Holy See diplomacy explained to CNA, “the Holy See does not enter into a political questions” such as those raised by the resolution, which was significantly titled “Occupied Palestine.”
 
A simple reading of the resolution indicates it was mostly political. The text never considered the question of whether the Western Wall is or is not a sacred location for Jews. Rather, it focused on two specific issues: the fact that Orthodox Jews always more often go to the Temple Esplanade, not just to the Western Wall, claiming their right to pray on the Mount of the temple; and how Israeli authorities manage excavations and infrastructures in the area of the Temple Mount.

However, the fact that the resolution used only Arabic names is perplexing, given that the resolution affirms “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions, also affirming that nothing in the current decision, which aims, inter alia, at the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Palestine and the distinctive character of East Jerusalem, shall in any way affect the relevant Security Council and United Nations resolutions and decisions on the legal status of Palestine and Jerusalem.”
 
Though the Holy See, prudently, does not take an official stance on that question, its position could be glimpsed in a Nov. 30, 2016 document signed by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See. The document was issued the end of a two-day meeting of the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission composed of the Chief Rabbinate and the Holy See commission for religious relations with Judaism.
 
The two parties have met on a regular basis ever since 2002. The delegations are restricted to six and seven members.

The meetings were interrupted only in 2009, following the lifting of the excommunication of Lefebvrist Bishop Richard Williamson, who had also made anti-Semitic comments. This was an isolated case. After a clarification, the schedule of the meetings was restored.
 
The commission’s last meeting took place Nov. 28-30. The last point of the joint statement stressed: “in discussion on current issues, the principle of universal respect for the holy sites of each religion was affirmed; and note was made of attempts to deny the historical attachment of the Jewish people to its holiest site. The bilateral commission vigorously cautioned against the political and polemical denial of biblical history and called on all nations and faiths to respect this historic religious bond.”

Though the reference was not explicit, it was clear that the document implicitly referred to the UNESCO resolution.
 
This way, the Holy See diplomacy maintained a balanced position. But in terms of Israeli-Palestinian relations, diplomacy is always a thin needle to thread.
 
This is the diplomatic background of the Mahmoud Abbas visit to Pope Francis. Any comment, and any move of the Palestinian state, will be weighed with Israel. The Holy See will stay in the middle, advocating for peace, as it has always done.

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Charleston, S.C., Jan 11, 2017 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The death sentence announced this week for mass murderer Dylann Roof prompted the local Catholic bishop to call for prayer, for both the victims and Roof. The bishop also reiterated Catholic opposition to the death penalty.

“Please continue to pray for the victims, survivors and families of the Emanuel AME Church shooting. Please also pray for Mr. Roof and his family. May he acknowledge his sins, convert to the Lord and experience His loving mercy,” Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston said Jan. 10.

Roof, 22, was convicted on charges related to the killing of nine people at Charleston’s Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. Victims at the historic black church included senior pastor and state senator Clementa C. Pickney. The churchgoers had welcomed the man, who sat next to the pastor during their Bible study.

Roof had authored handwritten manifestos endorsing white supremacy

He was found guilty of 33 federal charges including hate crimes, obstruction of religious practice, and firearms-related charges. He was sentenced to death on Tuesday.

Roof represented himself during the penalty phase of the trial. He said he aimed to prevent his legal team from introducing evidence concerning his psychological history, denying he had any mental illness. He delivered what the Charleston Post and Courier described as a disjointed and convoluted five-minute statement.

Melvin Graham, whose sister Cynthia Hurd died in the shooting, reacted to the death sentence.

“This is a very hollow victory because my sister is still gone,” he said, according to the Post and Courier. “I wish that this verdict could have brought her back, but it can’t. What it can do is send a message to those who feel the way he feels that this community will not tolerate it.”

Bishop Guglielmone reflected on the need to care for the victims and their families.

“Although we oppose the death penalty in modern society, our Catholic faith sustains our solidarity with, and support and prayers for, the victims of the Emanuel AME Church massacre and their relatives. We commit ourselves to walk with these family members, as well as the survivors, as they continue to heal from the trial and this tragedy.”

The bishop also voiced concern about the death penalty.

“Instead of pursuing death, we should be extending compassion and forgiveness to Mr. Roof, just as some of the victims’ families did at his bond hearing in June 2015,” he said.

One of those who spoke at the time was Nadine Collier, daughter of 70-year-old murder victim Ethel Lance, according to the Washington Post.

“I forgive you,” she told Roof at the June 2015 hearing. “You took something very precious from me. I will never talk to her again. I will never, ever hold her again. But I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul.”

For Bishop Guglielmone, Catholic opposition to the death penalty is rooted in God’s mercy.

“We are all sinners, but through the Father’s loving mercy and Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice upon the Cross, we have been offered the gift of eternal life,” he said Jan. 10.

“The Church believes the right to life is paramount to every other right as it affords the opportunity for conversion, even of the hardened sinner.”

 

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Vatican City, Jan 11, 2017 / 04:14 pm (CNA).- Ken Hackett is preparing to wrap up his term as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See as Donald Trump's presidential inauguration looms next week.

And while he says no one can predict what Trump will do in office, he expects the fiery campaign talk to simmer down once the “reality of governing” sets in.

Hackett, a former head of Catholic Relief Services who was pulled from retirement in 2013 to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, sat down for an interview in Rome with CNA Jan. 10.

Running a nation, he reflected, “calls you to be your best, to weigh decisions, to listen to advice, to play the role on the world’s stage that the United States has played and is capable of playing.” He voiced optimism that “good will prevail” and Trump will “take the best advice that's offered to him.”

One of the issues Trump was most outspoken on during the campaign, and where some of his most controversial and provocative statements were directed, was immigration – a major priority for Pope Francis.

When asked whether he anticipates the topic being problematic for relations between the Trump administration and the Holy See, Hackett said “no government agrees with another government on everything.”

However, there's “no more dynamic, moral leader in the world than Pope Francis at this moment in time, so I think you better find a way to engage, and I’m sure the Trump administration will.”

As of now, no new ambassador has been selected. Once Trump nominates someone, several months will be needed for security vetting and for the Senate to issue their approval. In the interim, the U.S. will be represented by the Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Louis L. Bono.

In his interview with CNA, Hackett reflected on some of the highlights of his tenure, points of mutual collaboration between the U.S. government and the Vatican, as well as expectations for the future administration.

Please read below for the full text:

 

You are just finishing your term as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. Can you tell us what some of the highlights have been?

Unquestionably the highlight was the Pope’s visit to the United States. That was so because we worked hard on it, on both the logistics and the substance. There was a lot at stake. This was really his first visit to the United States of America and we didn’t know which way it was going to go, and it was a rousing success. His speech on the White House lawn, his speech in Congress, his speech at the basilica, at the U.N., at Madison Square Gardens, St. Patrick’s, and then in Philly. It was great.

Do you have any specific memories of Pope Francis or memories that stood out, either during the trip or in general in your time here?

I would say Congress was particularly memorable and that’s because most of us who were keen observers really didn’t know how he was going to come across. Should he make the speech in Spanish? Should he make it in Italian? Should he make it in English? It’s not his first language and he chose to make it in English and he did marvelously. When he said ‘home of the free, land of the brave,’ bingo! That hit. Then when he talked about Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, he connected with the American people. Not [just] American Catholics, but American people, and that was powerful.

The Pope in that speech reiterated a lot of things he’s been firm about from the beginning. What have been some of the greatest areas of collaboration between the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Vatican?

Well the Holy Father is particularly taken with the issue of migration and the subset of that is of course trafficking of persons and he has asked that there be special attention on that. That’s one area we’ve worked very closely on. Then the issues of peace and stability and security, whether it be in the Central African Republic where he visited, in Southern Sudan, in Congo, in the Philippines, trying to bring a peaceful settlement in Colombia, resolution of the situation in Venezuela, and of course Cuba. So there were many areas where we found common cause and were able to be supportive, engaged, offering help, encouragement. A lot of areas.

I remember and have seen that the Embassy has partnered in hosting and organizing a lot of different initiatives, particularly on trafficking. Do you expect some of the partnerships in these areas to continue?

I can’t but expect them to continue. I mean these are devastating parts of the human condition that need to be fixed, so no matter what administration comes in I’m sure that we’ll be able to continue to engage on many, many of these things. On human rights issues, on war and peace, and issues that affect people’s dignity. That’s where we’ll continue, I’m sure.

Specifically on the topic of peace. In the Pope’s speech to diplomats this year he mentioned peace really needing to be more than a theory when it comes to politics. How important do you think this message is in today’s context?

It’s terribly important. The whole speech was directed at peace and security and he really covered the globe. He challenged nations to on the one hand look at issues of the common good, not just for themselves, but in the broader sense: go away from your country and think about your part in bringing peace and a better society on a worldwide basis. That was a big challenge. He picked out individual countries and challenged the governments in those countries. He talked about a re-capture of the European experiment, the “project” as no longer an experiment, and he wanted nations to lift themselves up to the best they could be and that’s a challenge.

He really did emphasize this need for individual nations to go beyond themselves and look to the entire global sphere in promoting the common good. Do you think that’s realistic?

It’s an ideal. But shouldn’t we have ideals? And he calls us to raise up to our ideals, as nations, as individuals. If you take his concept of mercy and look at it very broadly, it could apply to nations too. Reaching out for the other, going beyond yourself. You can always be more than just what the lowest common denominator is in your nation. We in the United States could do so much more. We do a great deal, but we could do even more and we could be more accommodating, we could be more engaged. It’s an ideal that we should be searching for.

Another point the Pope mentioned in his speech was the topic of his message for the World Day of Peace, which was nonviolence as a style of politics. How do think this factors into developing policies? He’s linked this to the migration crisis, how do you think this idea factors into the political and diplomatic realm?

It’s a challenge. But he wasn’t talking about pacifism. He was talking about using violence – he mentioned specifically using God’s name to justify violence. He talked about a world free of nuclear weapons, which was something that Paul VI raised. He didn’t say that nations should rid themselves of their nuclear weapons, again he said, this is the ideal. And calling people to a negotiated solution to troublesome situations. I think that’s a wonderful challenge that I hope we can raise ourselves up to.

Shifting to the future, I think these challenges and questions surrounding them are things we all have in our minds when it comes to how the new administration in the United States will handle them. In your opinion and from your experience, what do you think we can expect from the new president-elect?

I don’t know. Who knows? It would only be speculation, but what I do expect is that the rhetoric of the campaign will be put behind him and the reality of governing will kick in very soon, and that calls you to be your best, to weigh decisions, to listen to advice, to play the role on the world’s stage that the United States has played and is capable of playing. So I’m an optimist. I’m going to search for those elements where he could be leading, but I don’t know. I’m sitting here in Rome and not in the United States, so I know even less. I only know what I read in the papers, but I’m hoping and hopeful that good will prevail and he’ll take the best advice that’s offered to him.

One of the concerns despite our hopes is the constant concern about immigration. Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric during the campaign was very strong and I think many are anticipating tension between his administration and Francis on this issue since it’s such a big one for the Pope. Do you foresee this being problematic in terms of relationship between the Trump administration and the Vatican?

No government agrees with another government on everything. I believe that the people I know in the Curia and the Vatican will find a way to hold firm to their positions while at the same time attempting to dialogue on changes. So if there are differences on migration or any other issue, I’m sure that they will engage both in Washington and here, to look for solutions. Particularly in the Holy See they’re not stuck on “well, we just disagree.” They’ll try to find a way, and hopefully the Trump administration will try to find a way as well. There is no more dynamic, moral leader in the world than Pope Francis at this moment in time, so I think you better find a way to engage, and I’m sure the Trump administration will.

On the flip side, do you see areas where there is perhaps potential for strong collaboration?

There could be collaboration on particular countries, China, hopefully the Middle East and Middle East peace, extending U.S. interests throughout Latin America on peace in Colombia and a solution in Venezuela, further progress in Cuba. Those are all areas where the Holy See is interested and the U.S. government is interested. The issues of poverty, I have to believe that maybe there will be differences in approach, but nonetheless I have to believe that the Trump administration would want to eliminate some of the worst poverty that still exists in the world. And hopefully he will engage in a positive way on issues of war and peace. You’ve got to be hopeful.

What are your plans now?

My wife and I will get on the plane on January 20 and will fly to Miami with the dog, and then we have a small place north of Jacksonville, and we’ll just relax. This will be my second retirement, so I will try to enjoy it. We’ll try to see a bit of the United States that we’ve never seen since we’ve lived outside the country most of our adult lives. Then we’ll see what comes along. Who knows?

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