Not a museum

“The Holy Land cannot become a living museum of Christianity”, declared Cardinal KARL LEHMANN , President of the German Bishops’ Conference, on 4 March, just before returning from the pilgrimage of the permanent council of the Bishops’ Conference to the Holy Land. This was the first pilgrimage made to the holy places of Christianity by the bishops of Germany’s 27 dioceses. It was a positive experience that, according to Lehmann, “gives new impetus and new strength to our day-to-day work”. AS PILGRIMS. “We have come to the Holy Land especially as pilgrims”, said Lehmann, adding: “It was important for us not just to visit the holy places, but also to meet and speak with local Christians and visit their schools and structures. We expressed our link with the Christians in the Holy Land, who represent barely 2% of the population” and who “often live in difficult conditions”. “We were able to experience that a very vital Catholic Church exists in the Holy Land. It is distinguished not only for its spiritual life, but also for its work at the social level”, pointed out the cardinal, citing as an example the paediatric hospital run by Caritas in Bethlehem. Lehmann added: “Altogether the magnitude of the contribution made by the Church in the Holy Land to social life through schools and social structures of whatever kind is impressive”. This only strengthens the German bishops’ resolve to “continue to do whatever is in our power to express our solidarity with the local Christian minority. We wish to help to ensure that Christians here have a future”. And in this regard Lehmann continued: “The free access to the holy places must be guaranteed to the faithful of all religions. We expressly encourage all believers to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land”. AN OVERWHLMING EXPERIENCE. Lehmann described the bishops’ visit to the memorial of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem as a “moving and overwhelming experience”. It was, he said, an occasion to underline “that for all Germans it remains indispensable to face up to the genocide of the Jews both in the present and in the future”. The head of the German bishops then expressed his thanks for the “welcome given by the Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Israel, Yona Metzger, who received a delegation of the bishops’ sub-committee for relations with Jews in Jerusalem on 28 February: “This demonstrates”, he commented, “that in recent decades it has been possible to write a new chapter in Jewish-Christian dialogue”. Explaining that one of the “important objectives” of the pilgrimage was to acquire information on the political situation, Lehmann said that “as bishops we cannot be political mediators, nor can we indicate political solutions to overcome the crisis, but we can and must always draw attention to the sufferings of the people. We understand the fear of the Israelis, threatened by terrorism and how their right to existence as a State continues to be placed in doubt by some”, he said. “But we have also understood the terrible, catastrophic situation in which the Palestinians on the West Bank have been abandoned”, as also the situation in Bethlehem”: conditions, according to Lehmann, that “make many succumb to despair, and also foment political and religious radicalisation”. But Lehmann also underlined the need never to lose hope: “Many, also in the Church, continue to hope in a resumption of the work of the Quartet and in the efforts of the German Presidency of the EU Council. In consideration of the reality, however, expectations can only be low-key. “This also goes for everything that the local and universal Church can do to contribute to the solution of the conflict. Despite that, it forms part of our faith never to lose hope. The courageous witness of the Churches in the Holy Land, and the religious orders that contribute to reconciliation”, is also, said Lehmann, a source of hope. “AN IMPORTANT PART”. Welcoming the German bishops during their pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah recalled what are, in his view, the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “it arises from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas since 1967. According to the Israelis, the conflict consists of the struggle against terrorism. We are convinced, on the contrary, that terrorism is exclusively a result of the occupation. Only the end of the occupation can permit a lasting peace”. In this regard the Patriarch asked the bishops for “commitment to reconciliation. Your presence supports us and strengthens our hope in spite of our difficult living conditions”, said Sabbah, who also expressed gratitude “for the presence of the institutions of the German Church”, which he called “an important part of the Church of Jerusalem”. Sabbah also thanked the German custodians of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, “whose support means for us aid for our clergy, our schools and the whole of our pastoral ministry. We are grateful for the support you give to our struggle for peace, justice and reconciliation”.