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Shalit: Pope can assist us
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Noam Shalit: Maybe the pope can help

Father of kidnapped soldier to meet with Benedict XVI during latter's visit to Israel, says he hopes pontiff will be able to help secure release of his son

Noam Shalit, father of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, is scheduled to meet Monday with Pope Benedict XVI at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.

 

Shalit said Sunday he had not yet decided what he would say during the meeting or how long it would be. "I don't know exactly what I'm going to say to him yet, but certainly we will discuss Gilad and the issues with which the pope can assist us," he said.

 

President Shimon Peres' office said in a statement that Peres had received the pope's approval ahead of the meeting, and that he was committed to helping the Shalit family retrieve their son.

 

"The pope, who represents more than a billion and a half believers, conducts regular tours and visits in places all over the world and meets with leaders and religious personas, and he can assist the battle for Shalit's return," the statement said.

 

Earlier the organization fighting for Shalit's release stated that they were hoping to receive a sign of life from the captured soldier.

 

"We are hoping for the pope's contribution as a spiritual and religious leader, assistance in receiving a sign of life from Gilad, and the promotion of the issue of his release," the organization's statement said.

 

It is to be Shalit's first meeting with the pope, who has already assisted with the release of other captured soldiers. In the case of the deceased Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Benedict had appealed to Hizbullah's spiritual leader in an effort to gain insight into their condition.

 

His appeal was rejected, but in February 2007 he met with the Goldwasser and Regev families during a Sunday Mass in the Vatican, and promised to continue his efforts.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.10.09, 18:40
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