Pope Leo XIV discussed the conflict in Gaza, including a two-state solution, with Israel President Isaac Herzog in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday morning.
According to a Vatican statement after the meeting, the talks focused on the political and social situation in the Middle East and the need to guarantee “a future for the Palestinian people and peace and stability in the region, with the Holy See reiterating the two-state solution as the only way out of the ongoing war.”
The Israeli president also met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The Sept. 4 Vatican audience was the first closed-door meeting between Leo and Herzog, 64, who has been Israel’s president since 2021.
In a post on X following the encounter, Herzog thanked Leo for a “warm welcome today at the Vatican” and said he looked forward to strengthening Israel’s cooperation with the Holy See “for a better future of justice and compassion.”
The Vatican communique on Leo’s meeting with Herzog — a longer and much more detailed statement than those usually issued after audiences with heads of state — repeated Pope Leo’s regular public pleas for a resumption of negotiations, a permanent ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages, respect for humanitarian law, and the safe entry of aid into Gaza.
The Vatican said the hope was also expressed that the “legitimate aspirations” of both Israeli and Palestinian people can be guaranteed.
“Reference was also made to the situation in the West Bank and the important question of the city of Jerusalem” and to issues in the relations between Israeli state authorities and the local Church, the statement added.
In addition to a two-state solution for Palestine, Vatican diplomacy has called for an international status for the city of Jerusalem, where the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, is the Catholic leader of not only Israel but also the Palestinian Territories of Gaza and the West Bank.
During a visit to the town of Taybeh in the West Bank in July, Pizzaballa and other Church leaders said they hold Israeli authorities responsible for “facilitating and enabling” attacks on Palestinian Christians by Israeli settlers.
Thursday’s conversation between Leo and Herzog also touched on the importance of ensuring the continued presence of Christian communities throughout the Middle East, the Vatican said.
After the talks, a statement from Herzog said the pope’s reception of Israel’s president reflected “the great significance of the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel, and of course with the Jewish people, and the importance of the very sensitive issues and challenges we experience today.”
There was some tension surrounding the meeting due to a Sept. 2 statement from Herzog’s office stating that the president’s one-day visit to the Vatican came at the invitation of Pope Leo. The Vatican contradicted that claim hours later with a statement that “it is the Holy See’s practice to agree to requests for an audience with the pope from heads of state and government; it is not its practice to extend invitations to them.”
Vatican-Israel relations were marked by tension toward the end of the last pontificate owing to Pope Francis’ criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli citizens and others by Hamas militants.
Pope Francis called Israel’s actions in Gaza “terrorism” and on two occasions said what was happening there might qualify as genocide.
Pope Leo has taken a more restrained approach, calling for ceasefires and the release of hostages and emphasizing the need for dignified humanitarian aid and respect for law.
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This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
