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Diplomatic mission
Vatican seeks support on Jerusalem
When Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, left Rome on a diplomatic mission to Morocco in mid-December, he was reportedly carrying a personal message from the Pope to King Sidi Mohammed VI.
Archbishop Tauran was visiting Morocco at the invitation of the country’s foreign minister, Mohammed Benaissa. He also met with parliamentary and religious leaders.
If indeed Archbishop Tauran was carrying a special message from the Pope to the Moroccan king, the topic was likely to be the status of Jerusalem. King Mohammed heads a committee of Islamic leaders who have actively opposed Israeli control of Jerusalem since the occupation of that city after the 1967 war.
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