Pope Francis openly criticised the US’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

  

His Holiness called for the status quo of Jerusalem to be respected, and for ‘wisdom and prudence’ to prevail in order to avoid further conflict.

Francis made the comments during his weekly audience, after speaking with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on the phone.

He had also just met with a delegation of Palestinian religious and intellectual representatives in a pre-scheduled audience.

The pope said he was ‘profoundly concerned’ about recent developments concerning Jerusalem, and declared the city a unique and sacred place for Jews, Muslims and Christians that has a ‘special vocation for peace’.
He then appealed ‘that everyone respects the status quo of the city’.

‘I pray to the Lord that its identity is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the whole world, and that wisdom and prudence prevail to prevent new elements of tension from being added to a global context already convulsed by so many cruel conflicts,’ he said.
 
 The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Francis spoke to Abbas on the phone on Tuesday, after Trump told Abbas of his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Vatican said the call with Francis was made at Abbas’ initiative.

Early on Wednesday, Francis then met with a delegation of Palestinian intellectual and religious leaders who were at the VAtican for a previously scheduled meeting with te Vatican’s interreligious dialogue office.

The Vatican and the Palestinians plan to create a permanent working group on interfaith issues.
Speaking to the group, Francis expressed his hope for ‘peace and prosperity’ for the Palestinian people, and called for dialogue that respects the rights of everyone in the Holy Land.

‘The primary condition of that dialogue is reciprocal respect and a commitment to strengthening that respect, for the sake of recognising the rights of all people, wherever they happen to be,’ he said.

Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014, and later hosted Abbas and the then-Israeli president Shimon Peres for an interreligious peace prayer in the Vatican gardens.

The Holy See recognised the Palestinian state in 2015.