The Vatican's foreign relations, particularly their Middle Eastern aspects, are generally little known. This book attempts to clear up the misunderstandings and misconceptions in regard to the Vatican's Middle Eastern relations. For more than a thousand years, the Holy See has been inextricably involved in the Middle East; indeed, the very roots of the Roman Catholic Church originate there. Yet despite the religious overtones of the Holy Land issue, Kreutz argues that the Vatican's Middle Eastern policy is much more than an expression of its religious and secular ideology, it is a reflection of the social, political, and economic climate.

The study begins with background on the Roman Catholic Church and its links to the Third World, especially the Middle East. The balance of the book provides a chronological historical analysis of the Vatican's involvement in the Palestinian problem beginning around 1900 through 1988. Kreutz examines its relations in regard to the beginning of Zionist settlement in Palestine, the Holocaust, the 1947-1948 partition plan and the creation of Israel and the Arab refugee problem. He focuses on the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli Six Day War in 1967 including the growth of the Palestinian national movement, and the present day attitude of the Vatican under Pope John Paul II.

Kreutz provides observations on this often misunderstood and unknown area of Vatican policy, arguing that the Vatican's Middle Eastern relations are much more than an expression of religious and secular ideology--they are a reflection of the social, political, and economic climate.

About the Author

ANDREJ KREUTZ trained in international law and European history at the Jagiello University in Cracow, Poland, and in comparative and international politics at the University of Toronto. He has published extensively in European and American journals on issues related to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Vatican. His particular field of interest is interactions between religious beliefs and institutions and politics.

Book Information
ISBN 9780313268298
Author Andrej Kreutz
Format Hardback
Page Count 208
Imprint Praeger Publishers Inc
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc