After being in Columbia or North Korea, the Franciscan Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue set down its traveling bags in the Holy Land. During the 24th to the 27th of February, these fifteen friars from all continents offered the friars of the Custody a week of sharing and reflection on the “trialogue” between Jews, Christians and Muslims. This commission of the Order of Friars Minor was created in 1996 and reminds us that inter-religious dialogue is at the heart of Franciscan spirituality. To cast a positive light on the interplay and difficulties of the Holy Land, Fra Frederic Mann, the designer of this week, proposed a return to the great biblical figures of dialogue—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, the Three Wise Kings and, of course, Christ—as a framework.
The week began by setting the issues in context and a cycle of talks about the current situation of Christians in Egypt, Syria and the Holy Land. Mgr. Fitzgerald, former apostolic nuncio in Egypt, shared his experience of inter-religious dialogue and strongly emphasized on the connection between personal identity and religion, as well as Christianity’s support for the defense of liberties and integration. He presented interesting examples of meetings between priests and imams who together open themselves to the elimination of stereotypes. The Custos of the Holy Land said that many Middle Eastern Christians have trouble finding their place in the Islamic regimes are being increasingly put in place, and Islam is similarly subjected to internal divisions and questioning.
The commission had to opportunities to meet a number of people who are actively invested in dialogue: among them, the Focolari movement, which lives its spirituality with Christians as well as the faithful of other religions and atheists. Open to everyone, the movement seeks commitment to unity in the family, in the economic and socio-economic realms, in politics, and in relations between peoples.
Another interesting encounter was with the Messianic Jewish community of Benjamin Berger, who allowed the friars to discover a movement that is growing in Israel and the world. (There are over twenty communities in Jerusalem alone.) Profoundly anchored in the roots of Judaism, Messianic Jews, with their own vocabulary and worship, proclaim Christ as the true Messiah. Benjamin Berger defines himself as “a completed Jew, creating bridges between Christians and Jews.”
The commission was also invited to Bethlehem University where, received by the rector and some of the professors, the friars admired the students’ engagement in dialogue. Fra Russell, himself involved in an educational environment in the USA, was greatly touched by this meeting: “I will go back home filled with new ideas. When I chose to become a Franciscan I received the liberty to begin again every day in this mission of dialogue. I am renewed!”
The friars also had the opportunity to realize how difficult it is to separate politics and religion in the Holy Land. The commission visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, as well as the Temple Mount accompanied by Sheikh Azzam Khatib, the director of the Waqf, the service of many religious Muslims. After the two meetings with him, Fra Roger shared, “It is important to understand what can provoke rejection by the other, and fear. The wounds of both peoples can be easily felt and dialogue can help get past it, not spending time pointing out our differences.
The entire Custody is deeply grateful to the commission for its engagement and for all the time that was formally and informally spent with the friars and the students. The Custody will continue to carry the message that “belief should not be considered as membership in an organization, but as daily experience, as a dynamic.”
The commission announced that next year’s meeting will take place at the same time of year in Venice in close collaboration with the San Bernardino Institute of Ecumenical Studies. The commission will meet in November in Istanbul to prepare that meeting. For more pictures of this week, see the report of the Franciscan Media Center: Faces and Places of Religions in the Holy Land.
E. Rey
The week began by setting the issues in context and a cycle of talks about the current situation of Christians in Egypt, Syria and the Holy Land. Mgr. Fitzgerald, former apostolic nuncio in Egypt, shared his experience of inter-religious dialogue and strongly emphasized on the connection between personal identity and religion, as well as Christianity’s support for the defense of liberties and integration. He presented interesting examples of meetings between priests and imams who together open themselves to the elimination of stereotypes. The Custos of the Holy Land said that many Middle Eastern Christians have trouble finding their place in the Islamic regimes are being increasingly put in place, and Islam is similarly subjected to internal divisions and questioning.
The commission had to opportunities to meet a number of people who are actively invested in dialogue: among them, the Focolari movement, which lives its spirituality with Christians as well as the faithful of other religions and atheists. Open to everyone, the movement seeks commitment to unity in the family, in the economic and socio-economic realms, in politics, and in relations between peoples.
Another interesting encounter was with the Messianic Jewish community of Benjamin Berger, who allowed the friars to discover a movement that is growing in Israel and the world. (There are over twenty communities in Jerusalem alone.) Profoundly anchored in the roots of Judaism, Messianic Jews, with their own vocabulary and worship, proclaim Christ as the true Messiah. Benjamin Berger defines himself as “a completed Jew, creating bridges between Christians and Jews.”
The commission was also invited to Bethlehem University where, received by the rector and some of the professors, the friars admired the students’ engagement in dialogue. Fra Russell, himself involved in an educational environment in the USA, was greatly touched by this meeting: “I will go back home filled with new ideas. When I chose to become a Franciscan I received the liberty to begin again every day in this mission of dialogue. I am renewed!”
The friars also had the opportunity to realize how difficult it is to separate politics and religion in the Holy Land. The commission visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, as well as the Temple Mount accompanied by Sheikh Azzam Khatib, the director of the Waqf, the service of many religious Muslims. After the two meetings with him, Fra Roger shared, “It is important to understand what can provoke rejection by the other, and fear. The wounds of both peoples can be easily felt and dialogue can help get past it, not spending time pointing out our differences.
The entire Custody is deeply grateful to the commission for its engagement and for all the time that was formally and informally spent with the friars and the students. The Custody will continue to carry the message that “belief should not be considered as membership in an organization, but as daily experience, as a dynamic.”
The commission announced that next year’s meeting will take place at the same time of year in Venice in close collaboration with the San Bernardino Institute of Ecumenical Studies. The commission will meet in November in Istanbul to prepare that meeting. For more pictures of this week, see the report of the Franciscan Media Center: Faces and Places of Religions in the Holy Land.
E. Rey