Israel’s Shimon Peres and Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas met in Vatican garden
They joked and hugged before invocation of Jewish, Christian, Muslim prayer
Pope says: ‘Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare’
ByMatthew Blake
Published: 20:46 AEST, 9 June 2014 | Updated: 22:08 AEST, 9 June 2014
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The Pope waded into the Middle East peace process last night, uniting the leaders of Israel and Palestine through the power of prayer during a tranquil sunset summit in the gardens of the Vatican.
Political and religious differences were put to one side last night as Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joked and hugged at Francis’ Vatican residence before attending an al fresco invocation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship.
In a meeting that better resembled an outdoor summer wedding than a diplomatic parley, the three men passed along a receiving line as guests mingled on the lawn to the serene harmonies of a string ensemble.
United in prayer: Political and religious differences were put to one side last night as Israeli President Shimon Peres (left) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) joked and hugged at Francis’ Vatican residence before attending a sunset invocation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship
Momentous: The pope, the two presidents and Patriarch Bartholomew then planted an olive tree and members of each delegation shook hands as music played before adjourning for private talks
Pope Francis unites Israeli and Palestinian presidents
The pope, the two presidents and Patriarch Bartholomew then planted an olive tree and members of each delegation shook hands as music played before adjourning for private talks.
‘Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict; yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities,’ Francis said during the ceremony.
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The pope spoke after Jewish rabbis, Christian cardinals and Muslim Imams read and chanted from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran in Italian, English, Hebrew and Arabic in the first such inter-religious event in the Vatican.
At times the chanting made it seem that participants were in a synagogue or outside a mosque in the Middle East rather than a primly manicured triangular lawn, a spot the Vatican chose as a ‘neutral’ site with no religious symbols.
Interfaith: The pope, the two presidents and Patriarch Bartholomew stood for a picture before heading off for private talks. The pope spoke after Jewish rabbis, Christian cardinals and Muslim Imams read and chanted from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran in Italian, English, Hebrew and Arabic in the first such inter-religious event in the Vatican
Differences aside: Presidents Peres and Abbas joked and hugged at the ceremony, which included a group handshake as a gesture of peace
In his strong speech in Italian, Francis called for respect for agreements and rejection of acts of provocation. ‘All of this takes courage, it takes strength and tenacity,’ he said.
Francis, who made the surprise invitation to the two leaders during his trip to the Holy Land last month, said that the search for peace was ‘an act of supreme responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples’ and noted that millions around the world of all faiths were praying with them for peace.
‘We have heard a summons and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word ‘brother’,’ the pope said as Peres and Abbas listened intently and read the live translations.
Friendly: In a meeting that better resembled an outdoor summer wedding than a diplomatic parley, the three men passed along a receiving line as guests mingled on the lawn to the gentle harmonies of a string ensemble before the ceremony began under the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica
‘Supreme responsibility’: Francis, who made the surprise invitation to the two leaders during his trip to the Holy Land last month, said that the search for peace was ‘an act of supreme responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples’
He said the children who have been the innocent victims of wars and conflicts made the search for peace an imperative. ‘The memory of these children instils in us the courage of peace, the strength to persevere undaunted in dialogue,’ Francis said.
It was the first public meeting between the two presidents in more than a year and took place more than a month after United States-led peace talks collapsed amid bitter mutual recrimination.
Peres, who is 90 years old and whose mandate expires next month, departed from his prepared speech in English and Hebrew to say that he was an old man who had ‘seen war’ and ‘tasted peace’ and that all leaders owed their children a better future.
Abbas prayed to God ‘to bring comprehensive and just peace to our country and region so that our people and the peoples of the Middle East and the whole world would enjoy the fruit of peace, stability and coexistence’.
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