Conclusions of Madeleine Albright's Visit to Rome
VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 9 (ZENIT.org).- On August 1, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited the Vatican and met with Archbishop Jean Louis Tauran, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States.
Albright described the meeting as an "exchange of opinions" with the Archbishop, on the state of the peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, particularly as regards the future of Jerusalem.
Fr. Ciro Benedettini, Assistant Director of the Vatican Press Office, said that "Mrs. Albright wished to inform the Vatican on the recent Camp David summit, and on the general situation of the peace process in the Middle East." For his part, Archbishop Tauran confirmed the Vatican's well-known position on the necessary conditions for a just and lasting peace in that part of the world, that is: priority of dialogue, respect for international decisions, particularly U.N. resolutions, and the need for a special, internationally guaranteed statute for the holy places of the three monotheist religions."
There is satisfaction and optimism in the Vatican over the results of the meeting and the fact that the Holy See's position on Jerusalem is understood better, gaining credit in face of future negotiations. Archbishop Tauran himself commented on this on Vatican Radio. "The fact that the U.S. Secretary of State. Mrs. Albright, wanted to come to the Vatican to hear the Holy See's true position again on the question of Jerusalem's holy places is, in itself, a recognition of the Popes' and Holy See's interest in the Holy Land. I think it also implies recognition by the international community of a moral power, which the Vatican is, working so that political authorities will assume their own responsibilities, the French Archbishop said.
"During our conversation, Mrs. Albright updated me on details of the results of the Camp David negotiations, which, as she herself acknowledged, were not entirely negative. Mrs. Albright wanted to hear the Vatican's opinion again on the question of a special status that will give international guarantees to the holy places. She wanted a clear understanding of our position because, as she read in a newspaper, many think that the Vatican is asking for the internationalization of the city of Jerusalem, and this is totally false. What we request is that the shrines of the three religions may preserve their unique and sacred character, thanks to international guarantees, in such a way that in the future none of the parties will be able to claim for itself exclusive control of these sacred parts of the city. In a word, this is the objective of the formula that the Vatican is trying to promote and I have the impression that, following Camp David, this idea is going forward, and our position is considered a valid solution," Archbishop Tauran concluded.
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