Vatican’s Demand for Jerusalem Internationalization Supported by Franciscan Order

The powerful Franciscan Order today joined the Vatican campaign in behalf of the internationalization of Jerusalem with a formal endorsement of Vatican demands for international control of the city and its environs by the secretary-general of the order. Speaking to newsmen, the secretary-general, who is also Papal Custodian of the Holy Land, criticized a Canadian-Dutch proposal for the internationalization of the Holy Places in Palestine alone. He admitted the Israelies have not hampered the free movement of Catholic pilgrims to and from the Holy Places in Israel, but insisted the Jews cannot be entrusted with the “cradle of Christianity.”