Vatican Foreign Minister urges two-state solution for Israel-Palestine

A two-state solution to the conflict in the Holy Land is the just way forward for Israel-Palestine where the situation is worse today than it was 30 years ago, according to the Holy See’s Foreign Minister, writes Catherine Pepinster.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, promised that the Holy See will continue to back Israel’s right to exist but said that it also believes the Palestinians have a right to a sovereign home. Speaking in Wales last week, he said: “A lasting peace can only come about through negotiations focusing on the aspirations of both sides.”

Archbishop Gallagher was giving the hundredth theology public lecture organised by Swansea University’s chaplaincy, during which he described the visits to the Holy Land by four Popes as “confirming the Holy See’s approach. It cannot be helped if the visits are given a political interpretation.”

He also confirmed that the Holy See was particularly concerned about the future of Jerusalem, and that while the people who live in the city must be safeguarded, the most important matter was that free access to the city’s holy places must be guaranteed.

One option, he said, would be to guarantee special status for Jerusalem and he suggested that the United Nations might be its guarantor.