A future without barriers

Faced by the “radical changes” taking place in the Middle Eastern region “religious leaders cannot stand idly by as observers, but must work to build bridges and unite what the walls divide”. So said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, in welcoming the bishops of the Holy Land Coordination (HLC), the Coordination of the bishops of North America and the EU for the Holy Land, which officially opened their pastoral visit in Jerusalem on 9 January (until 12 Jan.). The HLC has made a pastoral visit to the Holy Land during this period of the year ever since 1998. After having spent the previous day, Sunday, in the parishes of Gaza, Nablus and in the Syro-Catholic community of the holy city, the bishops, who come from Canada, USA, France, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries and Germany, listened to the opening remarks of the Latin Patriarch and carried out the first of the planned institutional meetings on their agenda, namely, that with Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Daniele Rocchi, on behalf of SIR Europe, has followed the meetings of the four-day pastoral visit.Bridges, not walls. “Provocations, conflicts and tensions are being registered every day – said the Patriarch -; the prospect of a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis seems as far away as ever, just as the two sides remain far apart. For our part – he added – the leaders of the Christian Churches of the Holy Land, in a joint declaration, have reaffirmed the position, which is that of the Vatican, of seeing two States for two peoples”. Twal then reported on the growth of Christians in the Holy Land in spite of the migratory phenomenon that concern them. Their number is especially growing due to the presence of migrant workers and asylum-seekers of Catholic faith. The numbers are significant: “In Israel there are at least 220,000 Philippines, Thais, Indians, Sri Lankans, Latin Americans and Eastern Europeans and 30,000 asylum-seekers”, the overwhelming majority from Africa. To these should be added roughly a million of Russian emigrants; of these 315,000 are officially defined as non-Jewish and some 10% are Christians”. To them, and in particular to women, stressed the Patriarch, the Church of the Holy Land “is committed to furnishing spiritual and material aid”. “Concern” was also expressed for the children of migrants: “We are making efforts to ensure that they maintain their Catholic identity, given that they are inserted in Israeli society through the school system”. Another emergency described by the Patriarch to the bishops of the HLC is “the housing crisis. The lack of houses in the Holy Land is the prime cause of the emigration of our Christian youth”. One response to the housing crisis is the ‘housing’ project at Beit Safafa where 40 new apartments were handed over to an equivalent number of families in March. Similar projects are underway in Gaza. The Patriarch’s address was followed by that of the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate for Jerusalem and Palestine, Monsignor Antonio Franco, who reviewed the work of the permanent bilateral Commission between the State of Israel and the Holy See for the Fundamental Agreement between them and on the resumption of talks between the latter and the Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO).Reaching an agreement. The Nuncio’s speech was characterized by optimism regarding the definition of questions that still remain open, as later confirmed to SIR Europe, Vatican Radio Vatican and the BBC by Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon at the end of a confidential meeting with the bishops of the HLC. “We respect and much appreciate the Holy See. We have made much progress. I cannot promise when, but there can be doubt we are determined to conclude the Agreement for the benefit of all sides. We belong to a vast culture and civilization based on the Judeo-Christian heritage. That’s why we hope to reach an agreement soon”, said the minister, referring to the current state of negotiations between the Holy See and the State of Israel on the basis of Article 10 §2 of the “Fundamental Agreement” regarding economic matters and tax aspects. During the meeting, which lasted over half an hour, other issues were also discussed, such as “cooperation, security and right to religious freedom for minorities throughout the Region”. “The respect for and the protection of minorities, especially Christian minorities, from attacks such as are occurring in the region – declared Ayalon – is a concern for us all. We ourselves were a minority in the course of history; so respect for all minorities means that Israel is committed to ensuring that the rights also of Christians in the region be not jeopardized or compromised”. Ayalon, replying to a question about the Israeli security barrier that separates Palestinian families, cuts through farm lands and aggravates Palestinian living conditions, said that “it represents a system of security” and that “ever since it was built it has saved the lives of thousands of Israelis, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Before its construction we had many suicide terror attacks with many victims”. The deputy foreign minister then commented on the risk of religious extremism in Israeli society, which is causing not a few concerns in government circles, in as much as it could place at risk democracy in the country: “We shall not permit the democratic system to be placed at risk – he declared – . Everyone has the right of freely expressing his own ideas, but the law and justice are above everyone. That’s why we shall continue to reinforce it throughout our territory”.