Holy Land: Leaders of Jerusalem’s Churches, in their Easter message: “preserving the multi-religious and multicultural status of the Holy City”

“Jerusalem, the city of the Resurrection, is a beacon of hope and life. The city of life is also the city of peace and reconciliation. Therefore, the multi-religious and multicultural status of Jerusalem should be preserved, so that all Abrahamic faiths may only find the city of peace and tranquillity there. Let’s keep praying for a fair, lasting peace in Jerusalem and all over the world”. This has been written in their Easter Message by the Patriarchs and Leaders of Jerusalem’s Churches, calling the faithful to pray “firmly for all the regions that are ruled by violence and distress, mainly perpetrated against innocent people and places of worship”. “In our prayers – the Message reads –, let’s also commemorate all the women and children who suffer violence and injustice all over the world. We call everyone to respect the dignity of every human being and walk together towards the integrity and fullness of life”. Hence their exhortation to the “Christian followers all over the world and to our faithful people in the Holy Land and particularly in the Middle East” to “draw strength from the Easter celebrations. That we may all be witnesses to the Resurrection by promoting the values of Our Lord Resurrected, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, through the proactive involvement in the life of the Church and in society as a whole”. The Message has been signed, among others, by Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custodian of the Holy Land, father Francesco Patton.