Pope Meets With Arafat’s Wife

Pope John Paul II met Wednesday with Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, an Italian news agency reported.

Arafat said she asked the pontiff to help relaunch Middle East peace efforts.

“The Vatican can do much and the pope is always at the forefront of whatever concerns human rights,” the ANSA news agency quoted Arafat as saying.

John Paul also blessed the Arafats’ nearly 2-year-old daughter, Zahwa, Arafat said.