Pope Francis on Sunday prayed for peace at the Vatican with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, where he urged both leaders to show courage in seeking a peaceful solution to the situation in Middle East.
The Pope had invited the two leaders for prayers during his recent trip to the Holy Land, which has been endlessly engulfed in conflict.
The latest round of US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed last April and it was soon after this that the Pope decided to host Mr Peres and Mr Abbas for this historic prayer meeting. The two presidents, in fact, had not met in over a year, so their encounter is a small step forward.
The Pope made it clear that the Vatican had no intention of getting involved in the peace negotiations between the two sides, nor would the prayer session replace the diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
However, he very much believes in the power of prayer, and he has taken the initiative to use it to bring peace to the Middle East – a region engulfed by strife, not least by the recent escalation of hostilities in Iraq.
Pope Francis, who was accompanied by Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians, as well as Muslim, Jewish and other Christian religious figures, said at the Vatican prayer session: “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare.” This was a clear invitation to both Israelis and Palestinians to take difficult, but necessary, decisions in the interest of peace.
There have been countless efforts for peace in the Middle East over the years, and despite the fact that some progress has been made, most notably the Oslo peace accords 20 years ago, the two sides are still nowhere near to a two-state solution, which offers the only reasonable possibility of ending this decades-old conflict.
This deadlock perhaps explains why the Pope adopted a new approach, a spiritual one, to this conflict, hoping that inter-religious dialogue might entice the two sides to reflect on the situation and perhaps lead to a thaw in the frosty relations between them.
The words uttered by both Mr Peres and Mr Abbas during the prayer session were certainly heartening. The Israeli President said: “It is within our power to bring peace to our children. This is our duty, the holy mission of parents.” The Palestinian President, on the other hand, remarked: “O Lord, bring comprehensive and just peace to our country and region so that our people and the peoples of the Middle East and the whole world would enjoy the fruit of peace, stability and coexistence.”
These are positive statements, but they need to be followed up by action and compromises by both sides. Otherwise the peace process runs the risk of being stalled indefinitely.
While the participation of Mr Peres at the Vatican prayer meeting was welcome, the Israeli president has a largely ceremonial position and has no formal role in peace talks.
Unfortunately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the prayer session and refuses to deal with the newly-formed Palestinian unity government, because it includes representatives of Hamas. While certain reservations on Hamas are understandable, such a blanket approach is short-sighted and counterproductive.
Perhaps Mr Peres, who leaves office at the end of this month and who often used his presidency to advocate peace with the Palestinians, will have some parting advice for Mr Netanyahu, namely that a two-state solution is in Israel’s long-term interest and that in order to achieve true peace, compromises will have to be made.