Pope meets PA’s Abbas at the Vatican for first time in three years

Pope Francis meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican, their first face-to-face encounter in three years, as the pontiff has become more vocal in his criticism of Israel’s military campaigns against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The two men held private talks for a half-hour, the Vatican says but offered few other details about the meeting.

A statement says Abbas also met afterwards with the Catholic Church’s top diplomatic officials to discuss the “very serious humanitarian situation in Gaza, where it is hoped that there will be a ceasefire and the release of all hostages as soon as possible.”

Abbas says in a statement that he thanked the pope “for his positions in support of achieving a just peace in Palestine based on the two-state solution.”

Francis gifted Abbas a bronze artwork inscribed with the words “Peace is a fragile flower,” a present the pope has also given other world leaders.

Abbas is in Rome for a brief visit this week. He is also due to meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tomorrow.

The pope, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but has recently been more outspoken about Israel’s war against Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7 onslaught.

In November, Francis suggested the global community should study whether Israel’s campaign in Gaza constitutes a “genocide” of the Palestinian people. The comment, in a forthcoming book, drew a public rebuke from Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See.

Israel says accusations of genocide in Gaza are baseless.

Catholic media reported yesterday that a seasonal nativity scene at the Vatican has been removed after backlash over its depiction of the baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf used by Palestinians as a national symbol.

At the inauguration of the scene on Saturday, Pope Francis called on believers to “remember the brothers and sisters, who, right there [in Bethlehem] and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war.”