A statement last week in Israel by a Vatican official that the Holy See has changed its views on the political status of Jerusalem was denied today by the Vatican. Father Pierre de Contenson, secretary of the Vatican’s Commission for Judaism. said in a radio interview in Jerusalem that the Vatican no longer insists on international status for Jerusalem.
Father de Contenson, who was a member of a Papal delegation that participated last week in the first interfaith dialogue with Jews ever held in Jerusalem, said the Pope now only desires international guarantees for preserving the status of the holy sites in that city. A Vatican press spokesman said today that Father de Contenson was not competent to discuss political matters and added that there has been absolutely no change in the Holy See’s policies.
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