May 13, 2015

Image from European Parliament, Flickr

MPAC commends the Vatican’s treaty recognizing the State of Palestine. The recognition follows several other countries recognizing or voting to recognize Palestine and the upgrading of the territory in the UN to a “nonmember observer state.”

“The formalization of this treaty not only confirms the integral and crucial role of Christians in Palestine,” Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC President said, “but also that the Palestinian-Israeli problem is not an issue between religions. It is in fact, a human issue.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict speaks to values Americans and those around the world hold dear- self-determination and freedom. The Vatican’s recognition of Palestine as a state affirms to the world that colonization and subjugation of a people based on ethnicity is antithetical to those values.

MPAC thanks Pope Francis for taking a courageous step towards advancing the cause of peace and religious coexistence in Jerusalem as well as the surrounding region.