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Holy See won't raise flag at UN before pope visits

UNITED NATIONS - The Holy See said Wednesday it will not raise its flag at the United Nations before Pope Francis addresses the world body later this month if the UN approves a resolution allowing non-member observer states to fly their flags alongside the 193 member states.

 

The Holy See and the Palestinians are the only entities that are not UN members. The Palestinians have sponsored the resolution and hope President Mahmoud Abbas can raise their flag when he addresses the annual meeting of world leaders at the General Assembly on Sept. 30.

 

Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said he expects the General Assembly to overwhelmingly support the resolution when it votes on Thursday afternoon. Since its founding 70 years ago, only the flags of UN member states have flown outside UN premises.

 

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio and UN ambassador, told a news conference that the Holy See did not want its name mentioned in the resolution and did not co-sponsor it "because we have generally different priorities."

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.10.15, 08:42