Nuncio says election of Peres brings hope for peace between Israel and neighbors

Jun 14, 2007 / 08:32 am

Responding to news of the election of Shimon Peres as the new Israeli president, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Holy Land, Archbishop Antonio Franco, said Peres “brings a long history of negotiations” and that the symbolic power of the presidency is a strong impulse for working for peace.

Peres “was one of the most qualified candidates in this election and he is a notable and well-know figure.  The figure of the President in Israel is a point of reference of high moral value and a representative of the unity of the State,” the nuncio said.

Regarding peace talks, Archbishop Franco expressed hope they could be restarted.  “Hope is the spirit of our lives. It is true that what is happening in Gaza is, above all, very bad.  As the Church we participate in, live, and suffer all these realities.”

Shimon Peres, 83, is the ninth President of Israel.  In 1994 he received the Nobel Peace Prize.