Vatican Treaty Recognizes a Palestinian State

[txradioguy]

The Vatican officially recognized a Palestinian state on Friday by signing a treaty and said it hoped the step would promote peace with Israel.

Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Gallagher said he hoped the Holy See's recognition "may in some way be a stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

He signed the treaty with his Palestinian counterpart, Riad al-Malki, and said it could be a model for other Middle Eastern countries.

Israel expressed its disappointment last month when the Vatican announced a final agreement on the treaty, regulating the Catholic Church in Palestinian territories.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the agreement "distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral negotiations" with the Israelis over the long-stalled peace process.

The Vatican's started by negotiating with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which represents Palestinians in countries that don't recognize a Palestinian state.

The switch in designation constitutes an official recognition of a Palestinian state.

The United Nations General Assembly voted to recognize Palestine as a "non-member observer state" in 2012, and the Vatican has previously referred to the "State of Palestine" in communiques.

When Pope Francis visited the Holy Land last year, the official Vatican program referred to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the leader of the "State of Palestine," and the pontiff publicly referred to it at a speech in the West Bank.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/vatican-treaty-recognizes-palestinian-state-n382341?cid=sm_fb

[Mr Mannn]

This is what happens when a pope is more Marxist than Christian.

[Eupher]

Francis is a Jesuit and has been drinking the Kool-Aid for a very long time.

[txradioguy]

Francis is a Jesuit and has been drinking the Kool-Aid for a very long time.

I don't see how or why Bennedict stepped down.  Unless there was a political fight with the left that he didn't feel he had the strength to fight and now we're seeing what he was up against.

[Eupher]

I don't see how or why Bennedict stepped down.  Unless there was a political fight with the left that he didn't feel he had the strength to fight and now we're seeing what he was up against.

Presumably health reasons, plus Benedict was well into his 80s. I guess he, in a rather unusual but not unprecedented move, wanted to retire from the papacy rather than die in office.

I admire that.

Kinda wish that some of these SCOTUS types would do the same thing -- GTFO before they turn senile.

Francis is just another liberal that's ascended to where he is. And he's determined to make his mark -- kinda like a cow pissing on a flat rock.

[txradioguy]

Too late for the SCOTUS types...given some of their recent rulings senility hit some of them at an early age.