The arrest of Hilarion Capucci and the relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel
The arrest of Hilarion Capucci and the relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel

Summary/Abstract: The official contacts between the Holy See and the State of Israel were not very frequent during the pontificate of Paul VI. One of the situations which contributed to tightening the relations was the act of arresting archbishop Hilarion Capucci by the Israeli police on August 18, 1974, on a charge of collaboration with the Palestinian independence movement. The courtsentenced him to twelve years imprisonment, but three years later, in 1977, the official talks began between the Holy See and the Jewish State, aiming at freeing Capucci.The Pope even senta letter to Ephraim Kazir, the State of Israel`s President. After the papal message the arrest of the archbishop ended on the 6th of November 1977. That was the second or the third occasion when the Pope addressed the President of the Jewish State by his name and the official title.

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