Rebuilding hope

Anglican Primate Rowan Williams spoke of concrete actions to help Christians in the Holy Land in an international conference held in London July 18-19, jointly hosted with the Archbishop of Westminster Msgr. Vincent Nichols at Lambeth Palace. The meeting was attended, among others, by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, and by the representative of the Holy See cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. In the two-day meeting participants examined the ongoing situation of Christian communities in the Holy Land and underlined the crucial need to support Christians’ presence in the region. Participants included politicians such as Lord Howell, Ministry of State (Foreign & Commonwealth Office), and John Dalli, member of the European Commission.Ensuring human rights. Card. Jean-Louis Tauran urged Christians, Jews and Muslims to engage in dialogue in the Middle East: “History, like religion, teaches us that there is only one future: a shared future”, said Pope Benedict XVI’s representative at the Conference. “What is important is not to stop but rather to continue our dialogue, our pilgrimage towards the truth, with the conviction that ‘it is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult'”. Cardinal Tauran also called for the extension of the fundamental rights of local Christians in the Holy Land: “For the local Christians, like for the Jews and the Muslims, Jerusalem is not only a holy city, it is also their home city where they have a right to continue to live and to work. They must be granted and have secured the most fundamental rights: freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, freedom of movement, civic and historical rights, education, hospitals, the possession of their own institutions (seminaries, universities, monasteries, etc.). Of course, all this has to be recognized not only for Christians, but for all the inhabitants of the Holy Land”. The theme of fundamental rights was equally broached by Lord Howell, who underlined his government’s commitment in the defense of religious minorities and highlighted the practical problems experienced by Palestinian Christians due to the restrictions on freedom of movement and on permits. Moreover, John Dalli reiterated the European Commission’s measures for the defense of religious freedom, justice and equality “without which there can be no democracy”, he said.Shattered hope. Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, called for concrete action in favour of the “living stones” in the Holy Land, urging the adoption of specific measures for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which prevents inter-religious dialogue and seriously impacts the Christian minority population. For the patriarch, “the most complicating and alarming of all”, is the fact that “hope is being shattered. An entire generation of Israelis and Palestinians grew up witnessing and experiencing violence, occupation, separation, and hatred. There have been fewer and less opportunities to interact, and a heightened suspicion and apprehension on both sides persist”. For this reason, he admitted, “it is more and more difficult to envision a future of coexistence, it is easier to demonize the other, it is harder to forgive, and strenuous to start a constructive dialogue”. The conflict is not resolved, he pointed out, for a “a lack of good political determination” and “Israelis and Palestinians cannot achieve peace without external intervention”. For Patriarch Twal a “two State solution” would provide everyone with a dignified life. But time is passing and “the possibilities for a just resolution are rapidly decreasing”. It is a “crucial time”. And although “the forces of extremism are growing and gaining followers and supporters, there is a regional context conducive to peace. The Arab Peace initiative remains on the table, and there is a recognition by many Arab governments that regional threats to their security come from somewhere other than Israel. The U.S. Administration, along with the European Union and the United Nations, all agree on the urgency to bring about an end to the conflict, the recent uprising Arab Spring of the young generations in the region is spreading across sooner or later, with violence or peacefully. It is coming, and no regime is immune from these events, not even Israel”. Now it is an important time to act, but what can we do? For Twal it is necessary “to be in communion with the Christians living in the Holy Land share in their joys and suffering. This solidifies the presence of the living stones”. In response to this request, in the closing press conference Rowan Williams and Msgr. Vincent Nichols pledged to set up a fund to sustain the local economy, improve the living conditions of Christians and stop their exodus.