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His Beatitude Fouad Twal
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Westminster Interfaith Newsletter
Issue 63 – September 2009
Christians in the Holy Land
His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was invited to London by Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, to help promote the organisation's work, especially in the Holy Land where oppression and poverty cast a shadow on the long-term future survival of the Church. The Patriarch expressed his appreciation several times for the support given to the Church in the Holy Land by Aid to the Church in Need and other charities. He called them "a sign of hope for the future".
On the 8th September, he celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God at Westminster Cathedral. In his homily, he reflected on Jerusalem – a holy city with a universal vocation for Christians, Muslims and Jews. "Jerusalem", he said, "has the calling to offer itself as a place particularly dedicated to ecumenism and dialogue. It is only in Jerusalem, that one can see different religious communities living, praying and even singing in the same place, and, sometimes, at the same time. There is, in this place, a unique opportunity for educating and strengthening common values, such as the sense of the sacred, the sense of the other, his dignity, the sense of tolerance and liberty." Yet, he admitted, Jerusalem is still a divided city. It is a mystery.
After Mass, in the Cathedral Hall, he spoke at length about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land. Here is an edited version of his talk.
A constant theme in the life of the Christians in the Holy Land, is the fact that we are a very small community, about two percent of the general population whether in the Palestinian Territories or in Israel. In Israel, Christians live as part of the Arab minority in a state that is overwhelmingly Jewish. In the Palestinian Territories, Christians live within a population that is overwhelmingly Muslim. The vast majority of Christians are Arabs, although there are also important communities of Hebrew-speaking Christians and of Christian foreign workers.
Whereas Christians constituted between 6 to 10% of the general population in 1948, this has dropped to about 2% today. The major reason for this radical change is due to the enormous waves of Jewish immigration before and after 1948, as well as the consequent dislocation of a large proportion of the Palestinian Arab population, especially during the 1948 War. Not only has the relative proportion of Christians dropped radically, but Christians often find themselves marginalized in both Palestinian and Israeli society.
Minorities might have the tendency to close in on themselves, but the Holy Father reminded Christians, that "they are called to serve not only as a beacon of faith to the universal Church, but also as a leaven of harmony, wisdom and equilibrium in the life of a society which has traditionally been, and continues to be, pluralistic, multiethnic and multi-religious" (At Mass in Jerusalem, May 12, 2009).
The biggest obstacle in our lives as faithful in the Holy Land is the lack of peace and stability, the glaring absence of justice and the concomitant difficulties in all aspects of life. We cannot emphasize strongly enough the necessity of finding a solution to the issues that have sparked violence, conflict and war over the past decades.
The 1948 War, which led to the establishment of the modern State of Israel, also created the enormous problem of Palestinian refugees, as hundreds of thousands were driven from the ancestral homes in a few months, among them many Christians. The State of Israel was set up on almost 78% of the land that had been the Palestine Mandate. Christians are a part of an Arab minority within a state defined as Jewish. Although Arabs have citizenship, they are discriminated against in many basic services and this is particularly evident in education, health care, urban development and agricultural allocations. The 1967 War led to the military occupation of the remaining 22% of the land and whereas this time the majority of the population stayed in their homes, a harsh military occupation was put into place. . . . Most recently, we have seen the construction of a separation wall, supposedly a defence against terrorism. It has enclosed many Palestinians in ghetto-like areas where access to work, medical care, schooling and other basic services, has been badly affected. In addition, freedom of movement is severely hampered.
Despite the international community's attempts to kick start negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, on the ground, the situation seems to be getting worse. In the first half of the 1990s, the American administration mediated the establishment of a Palestinian Authority in certain areas of the Occupied Territories. However, these pockets of Palestinian autonomy are completely at the mercy of the Israeli military, and at present the Gaza Strip is living under an Israeli imposed siege, that has created a drastic humanitarian crisis. . . Most Christians live this harsh reality, as a part of the Palestinian people. . . . The Pope encouraged us to be at the forefront of seeking ways, to bring this difficult situation to an end by means that are coherent with our Christian identity, ways that reject violence, but that insist on liberty. . .
I must add though that we are cautiously optimistic at present, due to the change in tone of the American administration led by President Obama. He seems much more aware than his predecessors of the fundamental errors of the administration in their attitude to the conflict.
The issue of being a small community in a precarious situation, is exacerbated by the fact that, since the end of the 19th century, Christians in the Holy Land in particular, and Christians throughout the Middle East, have been tempted to emigrate, seeking a more prosperous and promising future for their children elsewhere. One of our greatest challenges is to persuade our faithful to stay and build their future in a land where many of them feel hopeless, marginalized and even threatened.
Although emigration did not begin in 1948, it was in that year that huge numbers of Christians left the country, fleeing the war alongside their Muslim compatriots and most were not allowed to return. Many Christians continue to dream of a future elsewhere, in a place where they can guarantee their families jobs, housing, education, decent living conditions, equal rights and socio-political stability.
Israeli policies threaten Christians and Muslims alike. From limiting movement and ignoring housing needs to financial taxation burdens and infringing on residency rights, Palestinian Christians do not know where to turn. The number of Jerusalem Christians, for example, is expected to fall from 10,000 to 5,300 in the coming 7 years, if these policies are carried out at the same pace.
Our young people, and the best among them, often cannot resist the temptation to leave and make their future elsewhere. They often do so with heavy hearts, but when they see no brighter future ahead, and no possibility to raise families in security, they emigrate and very seldom return.
However, despite the obstacles, we have a great treasury to sustain us. God chose this land and this community, in which to establish his Church. We are a community of "living stones" that has a rich treasury of "monumental stones" that commemorate the major events of our salvation history. We are a Church called to be custodian of the Holy Places of our Christian memory, but we are also called to be custodians of life. Our Churches are vibrant centres, which sponsor a vast array of projects that touch every aspect of daily routine. Our schools are among the best in the region, our hospitals among the most advanced, our housing projects are being constantly built, our clinics, our social welfare agencies, etc...
In Nazareth, the Pope encouraged the Christian institutions to be prophetic places of peace education, calling on Christians to be preachers of the Kingdom: "to break down walls and to be a seedbed of encounter, dialogue, reconciliation and solidarity . . . and to trust that God, will give growth to every initiative which aims at the extension of his Kingdom of holiness, solidarity, justice and peace." (At Mass in Nazareth, May 14, 2009.)
It is this community of living stones, which welcomes Christians from all over the world who come to the Holy Land, to drink from the sources of our common faith. We ask you to come and to pray at the Holy Places, but do not be satisfied with the monumental stones alone ... seek out the living stones, our Christian faithful. Pray with them, comfort them, strengthen them and you too, will be enriched by their testimony to the Living Lord, in the land that is his own.
To conclude: we are called to be Christian and that means we must have hope, hope in a God of surprises: a God who brings life out of the tomb, a child out of a virgin womb, a created world out of the nothingness of chaos.
We know that we do not and can not live this hope alone, isolated from our brothers and sisters in faith throughout the world. We depend on your prayers, on your support and solidarity, on your advocacy for our rights, on your lobbying for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine.
We are reassured, when we know that you are with us, in our struggle to survive and live as a community of witnesses to the Resurrected Lord in the land that was his earthly home. Please do not leave us alone in this mission. God bless you all.
Acknowledgements to Aid to the Church in Need
Aid to the Church in Need (UK) www.acnuk.org
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