Catholic World News News Feature

Some progress on Israeli visa problem September 17, 2004

The new head of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land sees "signs of change" in the Israeli government's handling of visa requests by Catholic missionaries. But "the administrative procedure is still confused," he said.

Delays in Israel's approval of visas for missionary workers have provoked sharp tensions between the Holy See and the Israeli government. Israel's interior minister Avraham Poraz was in Rome this week, meeting with Vatican officials, and promising that the visa problems were "all but resolved."

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa told a Vatican Radio audience that missionaries working in the Holy Land had encountered "a series of difficulties with the Israeli administration" in recent years. These problems emerged suddenly and without explanation, he added, "after 50 years without any problems."

But in the past few months, the Franciscan leader said, Israeli officials have again begun to approve visa requests, although the process is moving slowly. He said that Church officials hope the process will now run smoothly, and are particularly anxious to have a clear explanation of Israeli policies.

Church officials have recognized Israel's concerns, Father Pizzaballa said, insofar as some Catholic missionaries come from "countries that have a hostile relationship with Israel." He said that Catholic officials agreed to take extra care in reviewing the status of missionaries from countries such as Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. The Church, he said, would guarantee the conduct of missionaries, "to ensure that they will not cause any problems" to the Israeli government.