Israel, Vatican put dispute behind them

ROME -- A dispute between Israel and the Vatican over Pope Benedict XVI's comments on terrorism appears to have been resolved, after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent a letter calling the pontiff ''a true friend of Israel," Israel's ambassador said yesterday.
Israel's top diplomat at the Holy See, Oded Ben Hur, brought the letter Tuesday to the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in what the envoy called an ''amicable and intimate" meeting that signaled that ''we definitely see this thing behind us and are looking forward to improving our relationship."

The dispute erupted in July, when Israel complained that Benedict had deliberately failed to include a July 12 suicide bombing in Israeli in a list of countries recently hit by terrorist attacks.

The sides traded pronouncements that culminated with a harshly worded Vatican statement saying the pope couldn't condemn every Palestinian suicide bombing because Israel would so often retaliate with illegal actions that would also have to be condemned.

Good for the Pope standing up for himself , a bit of balance for once
will it last , I doubt it