Katsav meets pope in landmark visit

President Moshe Katsav traveled to the Vatican yesterday for talks with Pope Benedict XVI, marking the first official visit to the Vatican by an Israeli head of state.

At the end of their 25-minute private meeting in the pope's library, Katsav presented Benedict with framed photos of recently discovered mosaics that are believed to be from the Holy Land's oldest church.

Benedict gave the president a framed and signed copy of the Vatican's landmark 1965 document "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the Catholic Church's relations with Jews.

"It is a real pleasure to meet you," Katsav told the Pope as he arrived for the meeting, shaking both of Benedict's hands.

Police cleared out parked cars along the main boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square in anticipation of Katsav's arrival, which caps a visit to Italy that also included talks with top Italian officials.

Katsav said he invited the pope to visit Israel - an invitation first extended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a letter in July. The president said he hoped the visit would occur in 2006.

Katsav said he had told the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, that he would do everything possible to "accelerate" talks on the tax status of the Catholic Church "and to answer positively to the requests of the church."

Israeli officials have said the dispute, over issues including the tax obligation for Roman Catholic holdings and methods to resolve property disputes, is the main obstacle to wider cooperation between the Vatican and Israel.

The Vatican is seeking ways to lessen its tax burden as one of the significant land owners in the Holy Land and wants access to Israeli courts to handle any quarrels over ownership.

Israel strongly resists giving any special tax exemptions to the Vatican and has offered to create a special panel to oversee property cases involving the Holy See. Israel fears that giving the Catholic Church special tax terms could open the door for other churches and groups to seek similar loopholes.

Katsav told a press conference after the visit that talks on the issues were going well and that working groups would "try to close the outstanding issues as soon as possible." He said "almost all the issues had been resolved," although he didn't elaborate.

A Vatican statement said merely that "particular attention" had been paid to the issue during the talks.

U.S. President George W. Bush, who is currently courting the U.S. Catholic Church, told Sharon recently that he must end the stalemate over the tax issue, after which Sharon ordered that the issue be handled urgently.

Israel has tried to convince the U.S. government that it has already done all it can for the Vatican.

The Vatican's deputy spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and efforts to improve collaboration in the humanitarian field, particularly in Africa, were also discussed during Katsav's meetings.

Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in 1993, and the late pope John Paul II hosted Israeli prime ministers and other officials as part of his effort to build ties with the state. John Paul visited Israel in 2000.

Katsav, who is on the last leg of a three-day official visit to Italy, met Wednesday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini and Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni. Katsav was to continue on a private visit to Naples and Milan.