Superiors of Bethlehem Religious Appeal to Sharon and Arafat

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, APRIL 19, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Religious superiors of Christian communities besieged at the Basilica of the Nativity will hand a written appeal to Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat to find a solution to the problem.

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The appeal is signed by Father Giovanni Battistelli, responsible for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, by Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus I, and by Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoogien.

The initiative is the result of an extraordinary meeting held today in Jerusalem, to try to find a way to revive stalled talks between Israelis and Palestinians for an end to the siege.

There are 35 Franciscan friars, four Franciscan nuns, three Armenian monks, and four Greek-Orthodox monks confined in the complex of buildings of the basilica.

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