At the press conference which was held at the Latin Patriarchate on 23rd December 2008, His Beatitude Mons. Fouad Twal confirmed the visit by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Holy Land next May, but without specifying the dates.
In his Christmas message, the Patriarch, addressing all the inhabitants of the Holy Land “who are in Jordan, Palestine and Israel: local Christians, Jews, Muslims, Druze, pilgrims and all the friends of the Holy Land”, began with a message of hope, to which he immediately added: “this optimism, however, does not make us forget the instability, the lack of clear prospects for the future and the lack of security.”
He then launched a vibrant appeal for Jerusalem: “The Holy City is suffering for the illegal settlements and for the haemorrhage of its Christian children abroad, due to the absence of peace and the deterioration of the political situation. All this does none other than arouse in us great apprehension for the future of our Christian communities and for their conditions.” And, noting that the gravity of the situation does not only affect Jerusalem, he added: “We have an extreme need for tranquillity, serenity, reciprocal trust and collaboration.”
After this appeal, the Patriarch continued: “The second tragedy, before which we cannot remain silent, is that of Iraq.”
He then concluded his message with a prayer: “O Child of the Grotto […], make your homeland a land of blessing and prosperity, a land of encounter for the faithful of all religions. May no nation raise a sword against another nation any longer. May your Nativity be the birth of a new era, rich in peace, stability and security. Amen!”.
The Patriarch then answered the journalists’ questions.
Having evoked the question of the emigration of Christians on several occasions in his message, the Patriarch explained to the journalists: “We submit directly to the Gospel, that asks us to be, despite our small numbers, the salt of the Earth. We accept it and we will do our best to rekindle hope and love, in our Christians, so that they stay. We have to restore their faith, in themselves as well. They have to understand that their presence here is a mission. And like every mission, every vocation, it entails sacrifices. The Lord told us: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily”. And so as Christians, we have to accept the sacrifice of staying here, despite the difficulties we encounter.”
“What is the situation like in Bethlehem?”
“It is no different from that in Jerusalem, we suffer in the same way. We hope that the new year will be new in all senses: that it brings more hope, more joy, more contacts, more dialogue, more justice and unity. We hope that this visit by the Holy Father helps us and is an encouragement for us and for everybody. We have to have more confidence is each other, and carry out courageous acts for peace and justice.”
“And Gaza, are you worried about the situation of the Christians?”
“I am worried about the fate of the whole population of Gaza, not just the Christians who are an integral part of the population, suffer the same difficulties and if something positive were to happen it would be for the whole population, including the Christians.”
“Is this blockade unjust?”
“If you think about all the suffering, of course it is unjust! And I do not think that it is a solution, on the contrary, it only increases resentment and despair. It is a factory of terrorists, it isn’t a remedy.”
“You have made an appeal so that people do courageous things for peace…”
“Of course: all the check-points should be abolished and this wall should be demolished. We need dialogue and bridges between us, not walls of separation and enclosure!”
Regarding the visit by the Holy Father, he then explained that it was decided after the invitation, extended first by the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land and then by those of the civil authorities involved, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. The journalists asked him about any preliminary conditions that this visit requires and that will not be fulfilled, such as the signature of an agreement between Israel and the Vatican, the conditions for religious men and women to obtain visas, etc. The Patriarch, without denying the importance of these points, answered: “We have not made an exchange. Each visit by the Pope is a pastoral visit, but the Pope is also a head of State and we hope that his visit can advance the nature of the relations between us all, and that it leads to resolutions.” It is known that the commission for agreements will meet four times, from now until the end of March, with a general meeting in April.
“Is there anything that could make this visit uncertain?”
“No. The Holy Father wants to come and he will come, don’t be afraid.”
“Do you intend bringing him up to date on the situation?”
“He already knows everything that we are living through. He will only see it with his own eyes.”
Marie-Armelle Beaulieu
In his Christmas message, the Patriarch, addressing all the inhabitants of the Holy Land “who are in Jordan, Palestine and Israel: local Christians, Jews, Muslims, Druze, pilgrims and all the friends of the Holy Land”, began with a message of hope, to which he immediately added: “this optimism, however, does not make us forget the instability, the lack of clear prospects for the future and the lack of security.”
He then launched a vibrant appeal for Jerusalem: “The Holy City is suffering for the illegal settlements and for the haemorrhage of its Christian children abroad, due to the absence of peace and the deterioration of the political situation. All this does none other than arouse in us great apprehension for the future of our Christian communities and for their conditions.” And, noting that the gravity of the situation does not only affect Jerusalem, he added: “We have an extreme need for tranquillity, serenity, reciprocal trust and collaboration.”
After this appeal, the Patriarch continued: “The second tragedy, before which we cannot remain silent, is that of Iraq.”
He then concluded his message with a prayer: “O Child of the Grotto […], make your homeland a land of blessing and prosperity, a land of encounter for the faithful of all religions. May no nation raise a sword against another nation any longer. May your Nativity be the birth of a new era, rich in peace, stability and security. Amen!”.
The Patriarch then answered the journalists’ questions.
Having evoked the question of the emigration of Christians on several occasions in his message, the Patriarch explained to the journalists: “We submit directly to the Gospel, that asks us to be, despite our small numbers, the salt of the Earth. We accept it and we will do our best to rekindle hope and love, in our Christians, so that they stay. We have to restore their faith, in themselves as well. They have to understand that their presence here is a mission. And like every mission, every vocation, it entails sacrifices. The Lord told us: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily”. And so as Christians, we have to accept the sacrifice of staying here, despite the difficulties we encounter.”
“What is the situation like in Bethlehem?”
“It is no different from that in Jerusalem, we suffer in the same way. We hope that the new year will be new in all senses: that it brings more hope, more joy, more contacts, more dialogue, more justice and unity. We hope that this visit by the Holy Father helps us and is an encouragement for us and for everybody. We have to have more confidence is each other, and carry out courageous acts for peace and justice.”
“And Gaza, are you worried about the situation of the Christians?”
“I am worried about the fate of the whole population of Gaza, not just the Christians who are an integral part of the population, suffer the same difficulties and if something positive were to happen it would be for the whole population, including the Christians.”
“Is this blockade unjust?”
“If you think about all the suffering, of course it is unjust! And I do not think that it is a solution, on the contrary, it only increases resentment and despair. It is a factory of terrorists, it isn’t a remedy.”
“You have made an appeal so that people do courageous things for peace…”
“Of course: all the check-points should be abolished and this wall should be demolished. We need dialogue and bridges between us, not walls of separation and enclosure!”
Regarding the visit by the Holy Father, he then explained that it was decided after the invitation, extended first by the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land and then by those of the civil authorities involved, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. The journalists asked him about any preliminary conditions that this visit requires and that will not be fulfilled, such as the signature of an agreement between Israel and the Vatican, the conditions for religious men and women to obtain visas, etc. The Patriarch, without denying the importance of these points, answered: “We have not made an exchange. Each visit by the Pope is a pastoral visit, but the Pope is also a head of State and we hope that his visit can advance the nature of the relations between us all, and that it leads to resolutions.” It is known that the commission for agreements will meet four times, from now until the end of March, with a general meeting in April.
“Is there anything that could make this visit uncertain?”
“No. The Holy Father wants to come and he will come, don’t be afraid.”
“Do you intend bringing him up to date on the situation?”
“He already knows everything that we are living through. He will only see it with his own eyes.”
Marie-Armelle Beaulieu