Pope calls Mahmoud Abbas "angel of peace"

On May 16, in the Vatican, Pope Francis received the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). A few days ago the Vatican declared about the intention to sign the first agreement with the “state of Palestine”.

During the meeting, the pontiff called the Palestinian leader an “angel of peace.” Presenting Abbas with the Order of St. Martin of Tours, Francis said: “He is the angel of peace, destroying the evil spirits of war. You are also an angel of peace."

On May 17, two Arab nuns are to be canonized: Mariam Bauardi Hadad from Galilee, who was born in 1846, and Maria Alfonsina (Sultana Ghatas) from Jerusalem (1842-1927).

Abbas said the nuns embodied the Palestinian people's "desire for unity and independence in a free Palestine based on the principles of equality and humanity."

Earlier this week it was reported that the Vatican intends to sign with the PA an agreement on the fiscal and legal status of property of the Catholic Church and its ministers. The Holy See will maintain diplomatic relations not with the PLO, as it was before, but with the Palestinian Authority.

The representative of the Israeli Foreign Ministry commented on this decision, saying that this step of the Holy See is disappointing, does not contribute to the peace process and will not bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table. He stressed that Israel will consider this fact and take appropriate measures.