The Vatican says: "The discussions took place in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. Taking up the issues already examined at an informal level, the Commission noted with great satisfaction the progress achieved in formulating the text of the Agreement, which deals with essential aspects of the life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine, and encouraged the efforts of the joint technical group, urging it to complete the discussions on the remaining parts of the text, the formulation of which is already at an advanced stage." I will add that these talks are very significant. One concern especially has affected Catholic schools operating in the Palestinian territory. Last April, Hamas threatened to oblige all five Gaza Christian schools - of which three are Catholic schools - to abide by a law that forbids co-ed schools in Gaza. The Latin Patriarchate for years has been exempt from this law, but to follow the law banning co-ed schools would have shut down all Catholic education. So far, all Gaza Christian schools are "back to school as normal." Next month, the director of the Latin Patriarchate schools in Israel and Palestine will meet with the Minister of Education in Gaza, in the hope of finding a permanent, amicable solution. Gaza Catholic school enrollment is majority Muslim.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 23:27:56 +0000
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