F
FightingFat
Guest
President Moshe Katsav has become the first Israeli head of state to make an official visit to the Vatican.
He had a 25-minute audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
Israeli commentators say the meeting has great symbolic importance, as the two sides try to improve relations that have often been fraught.
President Katsav has invited the Pope to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor John Paul II by visiting the Jewish state.
As a gift, the Pope gave the president a copy of the Vatican document of 1965 that proclaimed that the Jews were not to blame for the death of Jesus Christ.
Mr Katsav told later told journalists that the Pope had “welcomed positively” the invitation to visit Israel, but that no date had been fixed.
“For my part, I hope it will be next year,” the president said.
Security around the Vatican was extremely tight for the president’s visit. Police towed away parked cars and removed litter bins that could hide bombs.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4445632.stm
He had a 25-minute audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
Israeli commentators say the meeting has great symbolic importance, as the two sides try to improve relations that have often been fraught.
President Katsav has invited the Pope to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor John Paul II by visiting the Jewish state.
As a gift, the Pope gave the president a copy of the Vatican document of 1965 that proclaimed that the Jews were not to blame for the death of Jesus Christ.
Mr Katsav told later told journalists that the Pope had “welcomed positively” the invitation to visit Israel, but that no date had been fixed.
“For my part, I hope it will be next year,” the president said.
Security around the Vatican was extremely tight for the president’s visit. Police towed away parked cars and removed litter bins that could hide bombs.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4445632.stm