” “"This morning, Shimon Peres, ex prime minister of the State of Israel and Nobel prize winner, visited Benedict XVI. Later on, he met card. Angelo Sodano, the state secretary, in the presence of the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben-Hur, and the undersecretary of the section for relations with states, mgr. Pietro Parolin". This was stated at the end of the morning to the press by the director of the pressroom of the Holy See, Joaquín Navarro-Valls. "During these talks he added there was an exchange of opinions about the problem of peace in the Holy Land, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the agreements that have been entered so far. In this respect, there was full agreement in condemning every form of terrorism, regardless of the pretext under which one tries to excuse it". Navarro-Valls then recalled that "they also reviewed the relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See in the light of the agreements signed in 1993 and 1997, such as the relationships between the Israeli Authorities and the Christian communities in the country". Finally, the director of the Vatican pressroom announced that "Shimon Peres invited the Supreme Pontiff to visit Israel".” “
