Vatican and Israel Edge Closer to An Agreement
La Stampa-Vatican Insider ^ | Andrea Tornielli - 01/30/2013
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"The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel held a plenary session in Jerusalem yesterday “to continue negotiations pursuant to the Fundamental Agreement Art 10 paragraph 2,” the statement reads. The Commission discussed the life, activities and tax regime of the Catholic Church. The text being studied does not touch on thorny issues such as territorial questions: the Vatican’s stance with regard to East Jerusalem and the occupied territories remains unchanged and the problems regarding ecclesiastical properties in that part of the Holy City and in the West Bank were deliberately set aside. Yesterday’s meeting was presided over by the delegations’ heads: the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ayalon for Israel and the Under-Secretary of the Secretariat of State Mgr. Ettore Balestrero for the Vatican.
The statement confirms, as all previous statements did, that negotiations took place in an “an open, friendly and constructive atmosphere.” The Commission “took notice that significant progress was made and looks forward to a speedy conclusion of the Agreement.” Israel and the Vatican “have agreed on future steps and to hold the next plenary meeting in June 2013 at Vatican City.” The hope is that the agreement defining the Catholic Church’s status in Israel will be signed by this date and should resolve the contentious issue of twenty holy sites Israel is home to. The agreement would exempt religious institutions from taxes, just as synagogues and mosques are but not properties that produce revenue.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2983824/posts?page=1
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