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Catholic World News News Feature

Pope, Vatican mourn Arafat November 11, 2004

Responding to the news of Yasser Arafat's death, the Vatican issued statements of condolence to the Palestinian people, and appreciation for Arafat's record of leadership.

In a telegram to Rawhi Fattuh, the president of the Palestinian legislative council, Pope John Paul II mentioned his "sadness at the passing" of Arafat, and was "entrusting his soul into the hands of the almighty and merciful God." The Pope voiced his hope that "the star of harmony will soon shine on the Holy Land," with Israel and Palestinian living peacefully "as two independent and sovereign states."

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who sent the Pope's condolences in his capacity as Secretary of State, signed the message added a personal note: "To the condolences of his Holiness, I cordially join my own."

The death of the Palestinian leader was announced Wednesday afternoon from the Paris hospital where he had been confined since October 29. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the director of the Vatican press office, responded immediately, saying: "The Holy See joins in the pain of the Palestinian people," characterizing him as "a leader of great charisma who loved his people and sought to lead them toward national independence."

Arafat met with Pope John Paul II on 10 separate occasions, including 8 visits to the Vatican. Their first meeting was in September 1982; the most recent was in October 2001. During one such encounter, in February 1999, Arafar issued an invitation for the Pope to visit Bethlehem during the Jubilee Year; the Pontiff accepted that invitation, and stopped at Bethlehem during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in March 2000.

Born in Cairo in 1929, Yasser Arafat emerged as a leader of Palestinian students during his training as an engineer. He was a co-founder of the Al Fatah movement in 1959, and gained control of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1969.

After years of open hostilities against Israel, Arafat announced in 1988 that he was renouncing armed conflict, and recognizing the legitimacy of the Jewish state. In 1993 he won the Nobel Peace Prize, along with his Israeli counterparts Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for hammering out a tentative peace plan on the basis of the Oslo accords. But with the election of Benyamin Netanyahou as Israeli prime minister in 1995, the progress toward a lasting peace past stalled, and relations between Arafat and the Israeli leadership sharply deteriorated. During his final months Arafat was confined to his PLO headquarters in Ramallah, closely watched by Israeli troops.

Under the fundamental law of the Palestinian Authority, Rawhi Fattuh, the recipient of the Pope's message, replaces the deceased Arafat on an interim basis until elections can be held to select a new president, which must take place within 60 days. Among the leading candidates for the leadership post are Mahmoud Abbas (known as Abou Mazen), the secretary-general of the PLO executive committee; and Ahmade Qorei, the Palestinian prime minister.