His Holiness Karekin II Receives Support of His Holiness John Paul II
In the month of August, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, sent special telegrams to spiritual leaders of Sister Churches concerning the ?Baron Der? property of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
In response to the letter of the Armenian Pontiff, a letter from His Holiness John Paul II, the Pope of Rome, has been received in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In his letter, the Pope expresses his appreciation of the gravity of the situation, and states that he has directed the Secretariat of State for the Vatican to intervene with the Israeli authorities in an effort to avoid the proposed construction of a security wall and road that would inalterably disfigure the Christian site.
The letter of John Paul II states in part: ?It is my hope that, in a spirit of mutual respect and good will, a solution can be found to this painful situation which would preserve the ancient patrimony of the Armenian community in Jerusalem and thus prevent inflicting yet another wound to the Christian presence in the Holy City.?
