ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE MEMBERS
OF THE "PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY"*

22 September 1997

Distinguished Members of the Palestinian Authority,

It is for me a particular joy to receive you today and, through you, to greet your Authorities and the whole Palestinian People.

To think of that dear people is always, alas, to think of a sad reality: injustice, violence and fear of the future are still the daily bread of your brothers and sisters.

The Holy See and the Pope have never failed to speak out in order that no one should forget the tragedies which have marked your history and your sufferings. No one can refuse to be concerned with the destiny of so many brothers and sisters in humanity, whose rights are too often not recognized, indeed, are often trampled upon. The Holy See has also frequently spoken out on behalf of the security of the State of Israel, being profoundly convinced that security, justice and peace go hand in hand.

I would like once more to remind all who live in the Middle East and those who in that area exercise any sort of political, social or religious authority that a peace process has been set in motion, that the path of reconciliation has been marked out, that peoples have expressed their desire for justice, and that entire families are awaiting a peaceful future for their children.

More than just human reason or political interests, it is God himself who asks every individual to have the courage of brotherhood, dialogue, perseverance and peace!

I implore him to bless all those whom you represent and all those who live in that land which, for us, remains "The Holy Land".

*Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, vol. XX, 2 pp.366-367.

L'Osservatore Romano 22-23.9.1997 p.5.

L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly Edition in English n.39 p.1.