Washington D.C., Nov 2, 2005 / 22:00 pm
In a statement released this week, Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, condemned “in the strongest possible of terms” Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmandinejad’s recent comments against Israel.
Last week, Ahmadinejad claimed to speak for his entire nation when he commented that Israel should be “wiped off the map.”
Pope Benedict strongly condemned the comments over the weekend, saying that “the Holy See reaffirms the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, each in their own sovereign State.”
Bishop Ricard, who is also head of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, added that, “Such declarations by a head of state undermine the quest for peace and threaten the stability of an already tense region.”