Pope Francis gave Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas a fancy pen as a gift, and Abbas told the pope,
"I hope to sign the peace agreement with Israel with this pen."
Pope Francis responded with his hope that the agreement would be reached "soon, soon."
The exchange took place Oct. 17 in the papal library after the pope and
Palestinian president had spent almost half an hour meeting privately.
Abbas had given the pope a Bible and a framed scene of Bethlehem, West
Bank.
The pope gave Abbas a framed scene of the Vatican along with the
pen, "because you obviously have many things to sign," which is when
Abbas spoke about his hopes to sign a peace treaty.
A Vatican statement about Abbas' meeting with the pope and a later
meeting with the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique
Mamberti, said, "The reinstatement of negotiations between Israelis and
Palestinians" was a topic in both conversations.
"The parties expressed their hope that this process may bear fruit and
enable a just and lasting solution to be found to the conflict," it
said. "Hope was expressed that the parties to the conflict will make
courageous and determined decisions in order to promote peace" and that
the international community would support their efforts. The
U.S.-mediated talks began in July.
The Vatican statement did not mention Pope Francis' possible trip to the
Holy Land, although when Abbas greeted Archbishop Mamberti he told him
that he had invited the pope to visit. Abbas' delegation also included
the mayor of Bethlehem, which likely would be on the itinerary of a
papal trip.
In April, Israeli President Shimon Peres also invited the pope, and
Israeli media have been reporting that a papal visit is expected in the
spring.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced
Oct. 16 that the prime minister would meet U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry in Rome Oct. 23 and meet the pope during the same trip.
The Vatican statement on Abbas' meetings said the pope and Palestinian
leader also discussed the ongoing war in Syria and expressed their hopes
that "dialogue and reconciliation may supplant the logic of violence as
soon as possible."
The two also discussed the work underway on a Vatican-Palestinian
agreement regulating "several essential aspects of the life and activity
of the Catholic Church in Palestine," as well as the situation of
Christian communities in the Palestinian territories and the
contributions Christians make to society throughout the Middle East.