Jerusalem, Vatican church officials criticize Bush backing of Sharon

Published: 2004-04-16

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- A Jerusalem Catholic official said the Palestinians' right of return to their homeland was a basic human right that cannot be taken away by the U.S. president and Israeli prime minister. Father Majdi al-Siryani, legal adviser to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said the right of return "is not something you can give and take away." "This is a basic human right, and I don't need anybody to recognize it," he said. The right of return is "not only a communal thing but also a right on the individual level." At an April 14 press conference in Washington, President George W. Bush surprised many by backing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal that Palestinian refugees should aim to be relocated inside a negotiated Palestinian state and should not return to the lands their families fled in 1948, when Israel was established as a Jewish state. Father al-Siryani noted that the Palestinian right of return has been recognized in two U.N. resolutions. "It is not for (Bush) to decide," Father al-Siryani said.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .