Weapons-free Middle East will foster peace, Vatican official says

Published: 2004-09-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction will help foster peace and stability in the region, a Vatican representative told members of a U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. "This, together with limitations on conventional armaments and appropriate security and confidence-building measures, can contribute to establishing peace in the region," said Msgr. Leo Boccardi, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. His comments came in a Sept. 22 address before participants attending the International Atomic Energy Agency's Sept. 20-24 general conference in Vienna. L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily newspaper, published the text of Msgr. Boccardi's speech Sept. 27. In his address, he said the Holy See delegation he heads was greatly concerned about "the growing signs of rising insecurity" in the Middle East due to the war in Iraq and "the unresolved conflict in the Holy Land." Finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will involve "respect for the legitimate aspirations of both sides, a return to the negotiating table and the concrete engagement of the international community," he said.

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