U.S. nuncio Abp. Sambi criticizes Israel promise-breaking to Christians

Oh boy, brace yourself....

In an interview published last Friday by Terra Santa (Italian), Archbishop Sambi, the current nuncio to the U.S. and former nuncio to Israel ('98-'05), pulled no punches when talking about Israel:

"If I must be frank, the relations between the Catholic Church and the state of Israel were better when there were not diplomatic relations."

"The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations with Israel as an act of faith," he said, "leaving for later the promises to handle the more concrete aspects of the life of Catholic communities and the Church to be addressed later."

The gist of the problems:

The economic agreement, Archbishop Sambi said, dealt with three issues: the status of Church property; equal compensation for services the Church provides to the Israeli population, whether Jewish or Palestinian; taxes.

Put in other terms: tax exemptions for Christian religious institutions have not been forthcoming, and there is a continued problem securing visas for Catholic religious.

The Archbishop's conclusion?

"The confidence that can be placed in Israel's promises is plain for all to see," he observed.

Ouch!

Terra Santa, it should be noted, is a publication of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land (source: CNS), so even the forum of dissemination is somewhat controversial and charged.

A notable reaction from at least one public official:

Oded Ben-Hur, Israel's ambassador to the Vatican, told Catholic News Service Nov. 16 that he was "really surprised" at the criticisms, "especially coming from our good friend, Archbishop Sambi."

"I know where he's coming from; there have been difficulties, but I see the situation much more positively," Ben-Hur said.

The Associated Press claims Sambi "lashed out at Israel" in his interview. I wonder if anyone has tried counting how many articles claim church officials have "lashed-out." It's almost like a public church official can't have an opinion contrary with or opposed to anyone else's without it becoming a "lashing out." I think Abp. Sambi stated some reasonable criticisms forthrightly. [See also: "Pope Benedict "lashes out" against laws that contradict Natural Law"]

One can, of course, question the prudence of making his comments public while negotions are still taking place.

Oded Ben-Hur, Itialan news papers reported, requested that the Holy See explain the meaning of Sambi's remarks. This is what the Vatican said:

"The interview with Monsignor Sambi published on the site www.terrasanta.net reflects his thinking and his personal experience garnered in the years he served as Nuncio to Israel and with the Apostolic delegation in Jerusalem..."

"... [The Holy See] reiterated its hope - already expressed during the recent visit by (Israeli) President (Shimon) Peres to the Holy Father - for a speedy conclusion of the ongoing important negotiations."

Ansa I think puts the situation in good context: "A respected Vatican diplomat has expressed his utter frustration over the lack of progress on bilateral issues in the 13 years since Israel and the Holy See established diplomatic relations."

Personally, I could understand being frustrated by a lack of progress after 13 years and then - once free of my official position - being ready to vent a little to a publication run by Franciscans who themselves daily deal with the fall-out of the poor relations.

Digging a little deeper, it might be possible that the Terra Santa interview - and the Archbishop's voiced frustration - could have been exacerbated by recent news that a delegation of Austrian bishops (led by no less than Cardinal Schonborn) were turned away from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem when they refused to hide their crosses. CathNews and Jerusalem Post have more. I can find, however, no direct connection between the two events so leave it for what it's worth.

The Associated Press thinks it found another recent cause of strain: "Earlier this year, tensions developed between the Vatican and Israel when the Holy See's ambassador to Israel initially decided to boycott a Holocaust memorial service because of allegations that during World War II Pope Pius XII was silent about the mass killings of Jews." I can't see that in itself being too big a deal.

More coverage:

• Jerusalem Post (does not contest Sambi's claims)
• International Middle East Media Center
• AsiaNews.it (which leads-off with Sambi's quote about Israel's lack of promise-keeping)

Anyone have some personal experience of these allegations to contribute to the discussion?

Update: More from CNA.

Also, see: "Israel-Vatican Relations & The Fundamental Agreement" - Ratzinger Fan Club