On June 19, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, spoke at Fordham University at an event entitled “The Vatican Israel Accords: 25 Years of Progress and Challenge,” co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel in New York and the Archdiocese of New York.
In his remarks, Archbishop Auza celebrated the 25th anniversary of the formal openings of the Embassy of Israel to the Holy See and the Holy See Nunciature to Israel and said the intervening quarter century has been a time of deepening mutual understanding, trust, friendship and cooperation. He expressed gratitude to the State of Israel for its commitment to ensure the Catholic Church the freedom to carry out her mission and make her contribution to Israeli society. He said that the relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel are of a special character flowing from the bonds between Jews and Christians and from the unique character of the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem. Those bonds lead both States to collaborate in defending human dignity, promoting the right to religious freedom and conscience, and combatting all forms of religious intolerance, especially anti-Semitism and Christianophobia. He finished by quoting Pope Francis’ words that the future of the State of Israel and the Holy See, and particularly between Jews and Catholics, “will either be together or will not be at all.”
The statement can be found here: