Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) - The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel has met today, 29 January, for the first time since 13 December last year.
At the end of the three hour meeting, it issued a Joint Communiqué, which spoke of the negotiations as taking place "in an atmosphere of great cordiality," and of having made "some progress" in the attempt to work out the long-awaited agreement on tax and property issues between the Church and the State. The Communiqué further says that the next meeting of the Bilateral Commission will take place at the "Plenary" level, and "at the Vatican". The last meeting of the Plenary Commission took place as long ago as 12 March 2002, also at the Vatican, after two previous meetings (in 1995 and in 1998) held in Israel.
