Pope Benedict tells Abbas that hope for Mideast solution is "a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which may be reached only by resuming negotiations between the parties, in good faith and according due respect to the rights of both"

December 12 2012 Pope tells Abbas of hope for Mideast solution

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday the Vatican hoped the recent de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations would spur the international community to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Abbas, who is on a tour of Europe to thank countries that supported the Nov. 29 resolution by the U.N. General Assembly recognising Palestine, held private talks with the pope for about 25 minutes in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

"It is hoped that (the resolution) will encourage the commitment of the international community to finding a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which may be reached only by resuming negotiations between the parties, in good faith and according due respect to the rights of both," a Vatican statement said...READ MORE

Madame Maha Seca, the head of the Palestinian Heritage Center, and the handmade Palestinian stole for the Pope

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POPE BENEDICT XVI TO STEP DOWN

Dear IHT/NYTimes,


Your photo essay POPE BENEDICT XVI TO STEP DOWN has several nice pictures of the Pope pointing out his outreach to Jewish people ( Pope Benedict XVI at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in May 2009  & The pope visited the Nazi death camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland in 2006) but none about his outreach to Palestinians and his recognition of the importance of Palestinian statehood ... AND his clear message that hope for the Mideast is  "a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which may be reached only by resuming negotiations between the parties, in good faith and according due respect to the rights of both"


Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab