Rome, Italy, May 8, 2009 / 10:56 am
The Apostolic Nuncio to Israel, Archbishop Antonio Franco, said this week, "My hope is that Benedict XVI’s visit" to the Holy Land will "give a decisive boost to peaceful coexistence in justice."
In an interview with the L’Osservatore Romano, the archbishop said, "We hope the presence of Benedict XVI will ignite the flame of hope. I would like to be optimistic but we have to above all be realistic. The solution to the Palestinian problem appears far off. Many knots still need to be untied and there needs to be a greater effort on the part of everyone."
"Above all there needs to truly be a desire for peace and an active effort to create conditions favorable to it," he said.
"The local Church is excited to welcome to the Pope as Father and Pastor," he continued, referring next to the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip. "Ever since the Angelus of December 28, just after the first attacks on Gaza, he made an unequivocal call to a cease fire. In response to the escalation in military operations, the Holy See called on the Israelis to end the vicious circle of confrontations and to seek negotiated solutions. There as a clear condemnation of the violence on both sides," he said.