BETHLEHEM, West Bank, APRIL 19, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Religious superiors of Christian communities besieged at the Basilica of the Nativity will hand a written appeal to Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat to find a solution to the problem.
The appeal is signed by Father Giovanni Battistelli, responsible for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, by Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus I, and by Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoogien.
The initiative is the result of an extraordinary meeting held today in Jerusalem, to try to find a way to revive stalled talks between Israelis and Palestinians for an end to the siege.
There are 35 Franciscan friars, four Franciscan nuns, three Armenian monks, and four Greek-Orthodox monks confined in the complex of buildings of the basilica.
ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
19. april 2002