The Vatican no longer insists on international status for Jerusalem according to Father Pierre De Contenson, secretary of the Vatican’s Commission for Judaism. The Vatican official said on a radio interview here yesterday that the Pope only desires international guarantees for preserving the status of holy sites in the city. If that is the case, it represents a major change on the part of the Holy See with regard to the future of Jerusalem and Israel’s sovereignty over the united city.
Father De Contenson, who was a member of a Papal delegation that participated last week in the first inter-faith dialogue with Jews ever held in Jerusalem, also offered a written apology today for disparaging remarks he made on the radio with respect to the high rise buildings that have altered Jerusalem’s skyline.
APOLOGIZES FOR REMARK
Speaking in French, in reply to a question, the Catholic leader said that “With so much dynamite about, it is a pity the terrorists don’t use some of it on some of those buildings.” Today he described his statement as a foolish remark that was meant to be a Joke. “The word terrorist came to my mouth because generally terrorists use dynamite,” he said, adding that “everyone knows I love the city of Jerusalem and that I am for peace and against terrorism.”
Father De Contenson’s criticism was aimed primarily at the recently built Hilton Hotel and other modern structures but they also included certain Christian churches and the venerable King David Hotel, erected in the early 1920s, which many architects consider a magnificent structure of native Jerusalem stone which blends perfectly with its surroundings.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
