Milan Archbishop to Visit Israel As Vatican-israeli Ties Accelerate

The archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, intends to travel to Jerusalem in February as a step toward deepening dialogue between Catholics and Jews.

Martini, considered by some to be a potential successor to Pope John Paul II, made his intention known last week at the end of a four-day international interfaith conference in Milan.

The conference, sponsored by the Catholic organization San Egidio, grouped more than 300 religious leaders of a number of faiths from around the world.

Jewish participants included Israel’s Ashkenazic chief rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau, who met with the pope at the papal summer residence near Rome on Sept. 21.

While the subject of the Vatican’s ties with Israel were not broached in Lau’s meeting with the pope, the encounter is being viewed as a psychological — if not concrete — step toward the eventual establishment of full diplomatic relations.

The actual negotiations concerning the political relations between Israel and the Vatican are being handled by a bilateral commission set up last year. Israeli Ambassador to Italy Avi Pazner was quoted by the Italian media as saying the commission had made “notable progress” in its negotiations.

According to Italian sources, the church has stepped backed from its position on one of the thorniest issues: the status of Jerusalem.

The church is no longer demanding that Jerusalem be placed under international jurisdiction, according to the sources. Instead it simply wants “international guarantees” of unhindered access to Christian and Muslim holy places.

The two other points about which the church is seeking clarification are its juridical status in Israel and the position of ecumenical bodies in Israel.

Still, despite the insistence of Israeli and Vatican officials that only spiritual, rather than political, issues were discussed by the pope and Lau, it was clear from the Vatican’s statement after the meeting that political issues — particularly the Middle East peace process — underlay the encounter.

‘A STEP FORWARD’

“In these days, so particularly important and delicate for peace in the Holy Land and the Middle East, after long and painful conflicts, the meeting takes on a special significance and was an occasion to reiterate the overcoming of historic incomprehensions, even serious ones, and to invoke together the gift of fraternity among the peoples who are heirs to the faith of Abraham,” the statement said, using phrasing that appeared also to include Muslims.

“This meeting, of a religious nature, was also a propitious moment to offer the political leaders of the region all the necessary moral support for the courage of peace in justice and security,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, in an interview last week with the Rome daily La Repubblica, the Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, described the meeting between the rabbi and the pope as “a step forward in the continuation of dialogue.”

Sabbah, a Palestinian, said that while the church was not waiting for approval from Arab countries before formalizing full relations with Israel, the recent agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel opens the door to action.

“The position of the church concerns a question of justice vis-a-vis the Palestinian people which has not yet been resolved,” said Sabbah.

He added: “Now, however, a new period is opening; everyone has agreed to carry out justice not through violence but through peace.”