Pope: I Didn't Call Abbas 'Angel of Peace'

Pope Francis denied Thursday that he had called Palestinian Authority (PA) Head Mahmoud Abbas “an angel of peace” when the two met a fortnight ago.

The pope told Israeli reporter Henrique Cymerman and his longtime friend Rabbi Avraham Skorka, that he only told Abbas – in Italian – that he believes he could still become an angel of peace in the future.

In an email message to the two, the pope added that “whoever does not accept the Jewish people and does not accept the State of Israel, which has a right to exist, is displaying anti-Semitism.”

A few days after the meeting with Abbas, the Vatican said that Pope Francis's reference to Abbas as "an angel of peace" was meant as encouragement for him to pursue peace with Israel.

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