The Papal Nuncio to Israel: (From the Jerusalem Post)
Archbishop Antonio Franco, papal nuncio to Israel, said Tuesday that he personally attempted to intercede with Hamas on behalf of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Franco also called on both Hizbullah and Israel to immediately stop the violence and enter into diplomatic negotiations.
"The pope is very concerned about the violent activity on both sides," said Franco. "The use of force can be understood under the present situation, but reason has to prevail. Each of the sides has aspirations, but the armed battle must stop and diplomatic solutions should be used."
Franco made the comments in his parish on the Mount of Olives during a meeting with about 30 Catholic school teachers from the US who are participating in an Anti-Defamation League-sponsored "Bearing Witness" program. During their six-day stay in Israel, the teachers learned about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post after the meeting, Franco said that immediately after the kidnapping he attempted to secure the release of Shalit via the Catholic Church’s Gaza-based parish.
"We received no response from the Hamas," said Franco.
Elia, pastor of the St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church, sat in on individual meetings this week with Cheney, Rice and the national security adviser to talk about the U.S. government’s role in the Middle East conflict.
Elia acts as the travel coordinator for Lebanon patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir when he visits America. The meeting with Cheney and Rice included Elia, Sfeir and a bishop from New York.
Asked what he would do as U.S. diplomat, Elia said, "I would tell them to attack Syria. I would tell Israel who controls Hezbollah. It’s Syria. Who trained Hezbollah? Syria. Who’s giving Hezbollah weapons and ammunition? Syria. Then who do you attack: Syria."
Elia said he agrees that Hezbollah should be disarmed and destroyed, but he worries about what Israel’s attacks are doing to the people of Lebanon, his native country.
"The people are starving. Four million Lebanese are going to starve soon," he said, noting that the price of food has escalated because shipments into the country have been blocked.
Elia said Syria should be attacked because that is the country that has the power to put an end to Hezbollah’s tormenting of Israel. If Syria is threatened, it will tell Hezbollah to stop its intrusions, Elia said.
The text of Patriarch Sfeir’s remarks with Secretary of State Rice
The AsiaNews report on Sfeir’s visit to the US:
Patriarch Sfeir addressed a press conference in Saint Louis before leaving for Chicago, the second leg of his pastoral visit. He talked about the “urgency and moral obligation” prompting American leaders to “facilitate the path of the Middle East peace process, because the Palestinian cause is the sword constantly piercing the heart of the region, and once a solution to the Palestinian problem is found, many problems and conflicts in the region will be resolved”.
Patriarch Sfeir then reiterated his full backing for the re-establishment of a sovereign Lebanon, free of all armed presence that was not governmental. This would entail the disarmament of the Party of God, but “disarming members of Hezbollah is not easy by any means because they are protected by Syria and Iran”. The patriarch expressed his gratitude to the international community, for protecting the rights of the Lebanese people – downtrodden by the country’s enemies – through UN resolutions.
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