Pope Francis' prayer meeting
at the Vatican with the presidents of Israel and the Palestinian
Authority may not lead to immediate peace, but the unprecedented
event "made a strong contribution" to the process, the Vatican
said Monday.
On Sunday, the pope welcomed Israeli President Shimon Peres
and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican gardens for
prayer after making a surprise invitation during his visit to
the Holy Land last month.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican
Radio on Monday the encounter was "a strong, new contribution"
to the peace process, symbolized in an embrace shared by Abbas
and Peres.
"It was a moment of liberation, of people who sincerely
desire peace but have trouble finding the way," said Lombardi,
calling the entire meeting "an act of courage against timid
realism".
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