During his four years as Pope, Francis has continually put significant barriers in the way of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and instead strengthened Abbas’s refusal to negotiate with the Jewish State.
While the Vatican stressed the holiness of Jerusalem to “believers of all three Abrahamic religions,” Abbas referred to it as “the capital of Palestine.”
In a historical meeting, the leaders of the Christian world pleaded to save the remnants of Christianity in the Middle East, which has survived only in Israel.
Pope Francis said several times that Jews were the “elder brothers” of Christians, repeating the words first uttered by John Paul during his historic visit to the synagogue 30 years ago.
The Vatican issued an unprecedented declaration that the Jewish people are part of God’s salvation without explicitly confessing Jesus as their savior, in a document that includes other changes in Catholic Church teachings related to Christian-Jewish relations.
Seeking to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, bishops want the Vatican to revert to another version of the Good Friday prayer which is less offensive to Jews.
Pope Francis reaffirmed Israel’s right to exist at a meeting with Jewish leaders held on the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a church document which put an end to the Catholic charge of Jewish deicide.