Israel delays negotiating session on church's legal, financial status

Published: 2007-03-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Israel postponed a major negotiating session with Vatican officials on questions regarding the church's legal and financial status in the Holy Land. The Vatican expressed disappointment at yet another delay in the on-again, off-again talks, which began 15 years ago. The meeting of the joint commission on church-state issues had been scheduled for March 29 at the Vatican and would have been the first plenary session of the commission since 2002. On March 26, Israel told the Vatican the meeting would have to be delayed because it coincided with important developments in the Middle East. The Israeli officials cited the March 28-29 Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip through the region. Israel's ambassador to the Vatican, Oded Ben-Hur, told Catholic News Service that the postponement was for technical reasons only, and that a new meeting would be arranged as soon as possible. In a statement made public March 28, the Vatican said it understood the reasons for Israel's decision, but expressed its regret at the delay and said the meeting should be rescheduled quickly.

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