Pope 'plans to chew coca leaves during Bolivia visit'

Coca plants have been grown for medicinal use but are also the raw ingredient for cocaine

Pope Francis has requested to chew coca leaves during his forthcoming visit to Bolivia, according to Bolivian Culture Minister Marko Machicao.

Coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, has been used in the Andes for thousands of years to combat altitude sickness and as a mild stimulant.

Mr Machicao said the government offered the Pope coca tea and the pontiff had "specifically requested" to chew coca.

The Vatican has not yet commented. The Pope travels to Bolivia on 8 July.

'Sacred plant'

Coca leaves were declared an illegal substance under the 1961 UN convention on narcotic drugs.

But the growing of coca leaves for religious and medicinal purposes is legal and licensed in Bolivia.

Chewing of coca leaves is a centuries-old tradition in the Andes, where it is used to combat altitude sickness

Many indigenous Bolivians consider the coca bush a sacred plant and chewing its leaves or brewing them into a tea is very popular.

Bolivia's 2009 constitution even declared the coca leaf "a cultural patrimony".

President Evo Morales, who used to be a coca grower, has long campaigned to decriminalise the consumption of coca leaves.

If the Pope were to chew coca leaves during his visit to the Andean country it would provide strong backing for Mr Morales's campaign.

"We will be awaiting the Holy Father with the sacred coca leaf," Mr Machicao said.

The Pope's visit to Bolivia is part of a larger tour of Latin American countries which will also take him to Ecuador and Paraguay.

Vatican signs first treaty with Palestinian state, voices support for 'two state-solution'

Israel blasts what it calls a 'hasty' step that damage peace prospects, while Palestinians laud move.

Philip Pullella | Jun. 26, 2015 | 2:21 PM
REUTERS - The Vatican signed its first treaty with the "State of Palestine" on Friday, calling for "courageous decisions" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution.

The treaty concerned the Catholic Church's activities in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli foreign ministry said it regretted the move, calling the signing of a treaty, which implies there is an official Palestinian state, "a hasty step (that) damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement".

But Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, said he hoped the agreement could be a "stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to cause suffering for both parties".

He said he hoped that a peace process directly negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians could resume and lead to a two-state solution. "This certainly requires courageous decisions, but it will also offer a major contribution to peace and stability in the region," he said.

The Palestinian for their part lauded the move, with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki  saying he was "proud and honored" of the treaty. According to a statement released by the Palestinian Authority, the treaty reinforced the PA's bond with the Holy See and "the special status of Palestine as the birthplace of Christianity and as the cradle of monolithic religions."

The Palestinians further said that the agreement "embodies our shared values of freedom, dignity, tolerance, co-existence, and equality of all.  This comes at a time when extremism, barbaric violence, and ignorance threaten the social fabric and cultural identity of the region and indeed of human heritage."

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2012 recognizing Palestine as an observer non-member state. This was welcomed at the time by the Vatican, which has the same observer non-member status at the United Nations.

Since then the Vatican has de facto recognized a "State of Palestine" and Pope Francis referred to it by that name when he visited the Holy Land last year.