More light on the Vatican's Middle East position

Sandro Magister starts us out. A fine article and interview, which deserves to be read in full. Anyway, here are some highlights:

In the one year and three months of his pontificate, the only time when the pope has alluded to the intentions to destroy Israel – particularly as expressed by Iranian president Ahmadinejad – was in this passage of his address to the diplomatic corps on January 9, 2006:

“In the Holy Land, the state of Israel has to be able to exist peacefully in conformity with the norms of international law; there, equally, the Palestinian people has to be able to develop serenely its own democratic institutions for a free and prosperous future.”

The parallel reference to the Palestinian people highlights one of the constant features of the Vatican’s politics in the Holy Land: paying attention to the people more than to the government – and to the Palestinian people more than to the Israelis. This is because the Palestinian people remains without its own rightful state, while the Israeli people does have a state, and defends this by means that the Holy See judges as disproportionate, punitive toward the civilian population, and disrespectful of the norms of international law.

Moreover, in recent days the conflict has brought back to center stage the drama of Lebanon and of the Lebanese Christians, who are destined to pay a very high price. The desire to protect Christian Lebanon explains the particular prudence toward Syria and Iran adopted by the Holy See in recent years.

...

In comparison with the words pronounced by Benedict XVI at the Angelus two days later, one notes in this declaration from Sodano a more unbalanced position against Israel, which is given almost the entire weight of responsibility for the extension of the conflict into Lebanon.

But this is not a surprise, coming from Sodano. The anti-Israeli party that is active in the curia has always had him as one of their leading proponents.

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It will be interesting to see whether, and by how much, the new secretary of state chosen by Benedict XVI, cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, will correct the anti-Israeli stance of his predecessor.

In particular, it will be interesting to see whether, with the new secretary of state and the new foreign minister, the representatives of an approach more understanding toward Israel’s motives will gain greater influence in the Vatican.

One of these is Franciscan Fr. David Maria Jaeger, Jewish by birth and an Israeli citizen, an expert in international law and for many years the Holy See’s chief negotiator with the Israeli authorities.

This is how Fr. Jaeger evaluated the conflict now in progress, in a July 15 interview with Daniele Rocchi of “Incroci News,” the online weekly of the archdiocese of Milan: [Click here for the rest of Magister's article as well as the interview.]

CWNews has published the most objective proof we can have regarding Benedict's opinion on the Middle East:

"... Pope Benedict has indicated his support for a statement released by the leaders of the G8 industrial nations regarding the crisis in Lebanon.

In a brief exchange with reporters on July 18, as he returned to his vacation home in the Alpine village of Les Combes after a long afternoon hike, the Holy Father responded to a question about the Middle East by saying, "I fully agree with the G8 statement."

At their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, the G8 leaders had approved a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire. The G8 statement urged Israel to act with restraint, but suggested that the primary blame for the latest violence should fall upon Hezbollah terrorists.

“These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos and provoke a wider conflict," the G8 leaders agreed. "The extremists must immediately halt their attacks.”

Pope Benedict said that in his view, the G8 statement "indicates the path" that should be taken toward peace in the Middle East. That statement had called for the safe return of Israeli soldiers who have been captured in Gaza and Lebanon; a halt to the rocket attacks and terror bombings on Israeli territory; the end of Israeli military operations in Lebanon; rapid withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; and the release of Palestinian parliamentary leaders who have been arrested by Israeli forces.

"I have nothing to add," Pope Benedict said, "except the importance of prayer that God will help us."

... and that's all we have for now.

Meanwhile, 300 people have been killed and 1,000 wounded since fighting began in Lebanon [source].