Holy See and Palestine talks progress

Ramallah, Palestine, 8 February 2014: The Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of Palestine held a meeting in Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday to discuss progress on a Global Agreement regarding the life and activity of the Catholic Church in the Palestinian territories. The Plenary Session in Ramallah at the PLO Headquarter was to review and approve the work done at the level of the joint technical group following the last Plenary Meeting held in the Vatican on 26 September 2013.

According to a Vatican communique, the discussions took place in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. Taking up the issues already examined at the technical level, the Commission noted with great satisfaction the progress achieved in drawing up the final draft of the text of the Agreement, which deals with essential aspects of the life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine. Both sides agreed to continue in the efforts to complete the constitutional and internal procedures in view of signing of the Agreement.
The Palestinian side expressed its warm welcome to the upcoming visit of His Holiness, Pope Francis, to the Holy Land.
The talks were chaired by Hanna Amireh, Member of Executive Committee of PLO and Head of the Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs of the State of Palestine, and by Msgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States.
Source: VR Sedoc