Now that the bishops of the Holy Land have returned from the Special Assembly of the Synod for the Middle East, there have been many initiatives in the various countries concerned to present to the faithful and to all those who are interested in reflection, the questions that were studied, the issues that were raised and the means to concretely implement the 44 final resolutions published on the occasion of this intense time for the Church of the region.
One meeting was held in Jerusalem on Wednesday 15th December. It was original for two reasons: firstly, because this meeting was organized by the Assembly of the Ordinaries of the Holy Land in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS), the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations (JCJCR) and the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) and secondly, because it was in Hebrew.
The first panel of speakers was made up of people with a personal experience of the Synod.
Monsignor William Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, went over the intentions and aims of the Synod. He was the only one to speak in English.
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, spoke – as during the Assembly in Rome –about the Universality of the Church of the Holy Land.
Father David Neuhaus, Patriarchal Vicar for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community, recalled the important role played by Hebrew at the Synod, describing it as a pleasant surprise for the Israelis.
For the occasion and for the first time ever, Vatican Radio opened a page in Hebrew that was updated on a daily basis, with translations and interviews. This work, which was financially supported by the Custody of the Holy Land, was carried out during the Assembly by Hanna Bendcowsky, of the JCJCR. This service is scheduled to continue but will have to be suspended until a team that can ensure it in the long-term is formed.
Hanna Bendcowsky, a Jewish Israeli citizen, then spoke, to share her experience amongst the prelates and her perception of the dynamics of the Synod. She certainly had never thought that one day, wearing trousers, she would have smoked a cigar and drunk coffee with men wearing the habit, let alone with Cardinals in the Vatican! There was something surreal and passionate in the way Hanna experienced Jewish-Christian relations and how the Jerusalem Center transmits them. The meeting had opened with a minute of silence in memory of Daniel Rossing, the founder of the Center, who recently passed away.
The speaker before Hanna was Mr. Soubhi Makhoul, deacon and administrator of the Maronite Exarchate in Jerusalem, who talked about the presence of the laity (to be understood in the Church in the meaning of Christians who are committed but “not clergy”), in particular young people and women, in the works of the Synod.
After these first brief accounts, three other Israeli Jewish speakers talked again in more general terms about the difficulties that continue in the dialogue between Jews and Christians, and specifically in Israel about the ignorance and/or indifference of Jews towards Christianity, fomenting the usual controversies.
Mr. Amnon Ramon, a researcher with the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, set out the main topics of the Synod.
Rabbi Ron Kronish, Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, spoke about the need for better education on Christianity in the country.
Mrs. Yisca Harani, a researcher specialized in Christianity, also spoke about the reception of the Synod in Israel.
After these speakers, the representative of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs underlined that the Christian presence in Israel has increased in number and should not be subject to any pressure. He expressed his disappointed that during the Bishops’ Assembly, voices that were marginal to the Synod, but which were widely reported in the media, were raised against Israel.
The auditorium of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies was too small to hold all the people who had come to listen. The majority were Israelis but there was also a strong presence of Christians who live in Israel, including several members of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community.
This exchange and the encounters deriving from it are part of a continuous effort for dialogue and reciprocal comprehension. If the Synod dwelled longer on relations between Christianity and Islam it is because, as Monsignor Shomali recalled, the Christian presence in the Middle East is a minority in an environment with a Muslim majority.
The Muslim countries represented at the Synod were Egypt, the Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey. Djibouti, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Algeria. Here in the Holy Land, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Christianity is also a minority.
Nevertheless, some issues in the relationship with Islam and Muslims are the same as those in relations with Judaism and Jews, such as how to know one another better, how to be open and pursue a respectful dialogue, the rights and duties of Christians in countries where religion conditions the life of citizens and so on.
The debate was too impassioned to be over in a short time.
Mab
One meeting was held in Jerusalem on Wednesday 15th December. It was original for two reasons: firstly, because this meeting was organized by the Assembly of the Ordinaries of the Holy Land in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS), the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations (JCJCR) and the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) and secondly, because it was in Hebrew.
The first panel of speakers was made up of people with a personal experience of the Synod.
Monsignor William Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, went over the intentions and aims of the Synod. He was the only one to speak in English.
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, spoke – as during the Assembly in Rome –about the Universality of the Church of the Holy Land.
Father David Neuhaus, Patriarchal Vicar for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community, recalled the important role played by Hebrew at the Synod, describing it as a pleasant surprise for the Israelis.
For the occasion and for the first time ever, Vatican Radio opened a page in Hebrew that was updated on a daily basis, with translations and interviews. This work, which was financially supported by the Custody of the Holy Land, was carried out during the Assembly by Hanna Bendcowsky, of the JCJCR. This service is scheduled to continue but will have to be suspended until a team that can ensure it in the long-term is formed.
Hanna Bendcowsky, a Jewish Israeli citizen, then spoke, to share her experience amongst the prelates and her perception of the dynamics of the Synod. She certainly had never thought that one day, wearing trousers, she would have smoked a cigar and drunk coffee with men wearing the habit, let alone with Cardinals in the Vatican! There was something surreal and passionate in the way Hanna experienced Jewish-Christian relations and how the Jerusalem Center transmits them. The meeting had opened with a minute of silence in memory of Daniel Rossing, the founder of the Center, who recently passed away.
The speaker before Hanna was Mr. Soubhi Makhoul, deacon and administrator of the Maronite Exarchate in Jerusalem, who talked about the presence of the laity (to be understood in the Church in the meaning of Christians who are committed but “not clergy”), in particular young people and women, in the works of the Synod.
After these first brief accounts, three other Israeli Jewish speakers talked again in more general terms about the difficulties that continue in the dialogue between Jews and Christians, and specifically in Israel about the ignorance and/or indifference of Jews towards Christianity, fomenting the usual controversies.
Mr. Amnon Ramon, a researcher with the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, set out the main topics of the Synod.
Rabbi Ron Kronish, Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, spoke about the need for better education on Christianity in the country.
Mrs. Yisca Harani, a researcher specialized in Christianity, also spoke about the reception of the Synod in Israel.
After these speakers, the representative of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs underlined that the Christian presence in Israel has increased in number and should not be subject to any pressure. He expressed his disappointed that during the Bishops’ Assembly, voices that were marginal to the Synod, but which were widely reported in the media, were raised against Israel.
The auditorium of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies was too small to hold all the people who had come to listen. The majority were Israelis but there was also a strong presence of Christians who live in Israel, including several members of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community.
This exchange and the encounters deriving from it are part of a continuous effort for dialogue and reciprocal comprehension. If the Synod dwelled longer on relations between Christianity and Islam it is because, as Monsignor Shomali recalled, the Christian presence in the Middle East is a minority in an environment with a Muslim majority.
The Muslim countries represented at the Synod were Egypt, the Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey. Djibouti, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Algeria. Here in the Holy Land, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Christianity is also a minority.
Nevertheless, some issues in the relationship with Islam and Muslims are the same as those in relations with Judaism and Jews, such as how to know one another better, how to be open and pursue a respectful dialogue, the rights and duties of Christians in countries where religion conditions the life of citizens and so on.
The debate was too impassioned to be over in a short time.
Mab