A Great Cloud of Witnesses: The Catholic Church's Experience in the Holy Land

Dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Palestine

Good Shepherd Parish, Jericho

..never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided.

Sir Jeffery M. Abood

Knight Commander

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

All articles/photos have been reprinted with permissions. Some articles have been edited for length.

Many of the articles included here were previously compiled and published in a 3 volume educational series used as a resource by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Order. Copyright 2014: Jeffery M. Abood. Copyrights to any of the individual parts remain those of the original authors and/or publishers.

COVER PHOTO: Athena Brown

I am inspired to know that you are taking to heart a future for our community, and to recognize that you, our brothers and sisters in Christ have not forgotten the faithful of the Holy Land. It is an assurance that we are not alone and isolated.

His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

The Arab Christians are the Living Stones of the Holy Land. They are the first believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, but they feel they are the forgotten faithful.

Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, President Lutheran World Federation

We are different Christian denominations, but all Palestinians. While we have our own religion and heritage; we are a principal part of the fabric of our homeland and the Arab Palestinian people.

Archbishop of Sebastia, Theodosios Atallah Hanna – Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Table of Contents

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Christians of the Holy Land: An Overview

A Background: Israel, Palestine and the Christian Communities

The History: Yesterday's Roots and Today's Issues

The Papal Voice

Living as a Christian in the Holy Land

Obstacles to Peace

A Right to Education

Religious Freedom

Christian Relations in the Holy Land

Christians in Israel

Christians in Gaza

Pilgrimages

Moving Forward: The Hope for Peace

"Don’t be satisfied with what you read in the newspapers. Dig deeper. There you will find the truth."

His Beatitude Latin Catholic Patriarch Fouad Twal

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: The Catholic Church's Experience in the Holy Land

Hearing our own voice.

Seeking to understand the Holy Land and the Christian's life in it, can at the outset, seem a confusing, possibly even daunting task. There are any number of voices seeking to influence one's perception of the Christian situation in Palestine and Israel. Yet, it is the voice of the Church that speaks the clearest.

Each day, the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, in her social service agencies, hospitals, schools and parishes, witnesses the human consequences of the ongoing troubles that plaque the land of Jesus' birth. They have gone on record as a way of sharing those experiences with the larger Church.

What you will find contained herein is the voice of the Church in its' own words. It is not the voice of politicians or pundits or ideologues. It is the uncensored authentic voice of the Church in the Holy Land and it continues to faithfully call out to us. This is a compilation of the words of Popes, Patriarchs, Cardinals, clergy, teachers and the everyday Catholic in the street. It is uniquely, the Christian experience. It has been consistent, truthful and unfortunately, too often ignored. This is a humble attempt to help change that. In doing so, this book has brought together for the first time in one place, a series of official Church statements, documents, articles, and interviews collected from over a seventy year time span. And while some of the articles are older, the larger issues they address have never been resolved. All of these articles are solely from the Christian perspective and address issues specific to the Holy Land.

When most people think of the Holy Land, they think of Israel and Palestine. Many also believe that whatever transpires there is simply a matter concerning Jews and Muslims. Yet, there is a very significant community whose voice is too often left out, not only of much of the dialogue, but also of many of the possible solutions regarding the Holy Land. That voice is the voice of the Church and its' people. It is a voice that many are not generally familiar with. If you say there are Catholics living in Gaza; it can sound strange indeed to someone unfamiliar with the Churches history and presence there.

As the Christian population in the Holy Land has decreased from historically around 18% to less than 2% today, it is imperative we correctly understand the situation of our brothers and sisters living there.

In order to better understand their lives in this troubled land, it is the voice of the Church, that can provide us with a solid base on which to form our perspectives. It is a voice free of spin, agenda or politics. As Archimedes said, Give me a place to stand and I can move the earth. The Church has provided us with that place to stand, so that we can make a positive difference. The Christians in the Holy Land have a saying, that we live in a land that has experienced the Resurrection, so as Christians, we always have hope. Part of that hope is us. Our prayer is that the reader will hear what the Church is saying and join their voices to those of this great cloud of witnesses.

Christians of the Holy Land: an Overview

Catholics of the world must offer their prayer and expressions of solidarity...to the Christian community of that blessed land. Despite their countless difficulties, these Christians offer day by day, and in silence, an authentic witness to the Gospel.

Cardinal Daoud, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, 2007

The Crowning of Thorns

+ Fouad Twal, Patriarch

February 15, 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. Here we are at the beginning of Lent, two days after Ash Wednesday, as is a tradition in Jerusalem at the Church of the Convent of Ecce Homo. We commemorate the crowning of Jesus Christ with thorns. We have begun the forty days of Lent which leads us to Easter. In a burst of love which we shall never fully grasp, Jesus, the Son of God, gave his life for the glory of God and the salvation of the world. Today we depart from the gospel narrative to contemplate, to meditate, to delve into the third sorrowful mystery, the mystery of the rosary, the crowning with thorns.

2. Jesus was crowned with thorns, Jesus was insulted, humiliated, subjected to ridicule, general mockery, laughter and all possible forms of public and personal humiliation: this is what is marked out in this third mystery. Jesus suffered in his body, in his heart. It is in Gethsemane also that the tribulation penetrates His most holy soul.

With the crown of thorns, with what precedes and what follows, with all that extracts from Christ tears and cries, God the Father suffers with his Son. This sacrifice reveals the Father’s love, willing to give up the life of his Son, to save the life of each of us, as we are. Through the sufferings of Jesus, He said I love you. The love of Christ is stronger than the pain it inflicts on his humanity. This love confers on Him His true royalty. These thorns encircle the forehead of the Redeemer as a crown of glory, because this crown, this and no other, Jesus accepted with love. Jesus wanted the kingdom of love, a kingdom not of this world.

3. As Christians, we too are called to bear our crown of thorns, that is to say, willing to suffer for Christ’s sake and to share in his suffering (1 Peter 1: 21). Jesus said that anyone who wants to follow him must carry his cross (Luke 9: 23). Become a disciple of Jesus, not only by following, but also by carrying in our bodies what is still lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Col 1: 24).

Here in the Holy Land, and the Middle East in general, we too are stifled by the thorns of war, violence, extremism, instability, migration, and injustice. Here in the Holy Land, Jesus continues to suffer where believers are divided, where injustice reigns, where migrants and refugees are mistreated.

We carry a crown of barbed wire, a tunic of concrete and graffiti. And we Christians form another Calvary Church of the Via Crucis which has not yet been completed.

For us, trying to live as disciples of Christ on the Land of Salvation, is to agree to take on ourselves, as Simon of Cyrene, a part of the cross of Jesus. It is to be willing to take upon ourselves, unworthy descendants of Veronica, a portion of that sputum that dirtied the face of the Lord. In each of us lives another Simon of Cyrene and a beautiful Veronica who dares to reach out to the neighbor. I am proud of our Church in Jordan where Caritas-Jordan is doing miracles for hundreds of thousands of Syrians refugees.

4. We are not allowed to lose faith and hope. Our vocation is between Calvary and hope. And hope does not disappoint (Rom 5: 5). We proudly wear the crown which is the identity of our vocation, and which associates us with the passion of Christ. It involves the vocation of personal conversion of hearts, that the old man dies. It involves suffering that purifies the heart and feelings; the more love grows, the more it accepts pain as a companion. But the glance on the Crucified One gives strength, patience, sometimes obedience leads to the humiliation, contempt for human dignity, or until death. Do not forget that the Master is also passed by and he forgave. He conquered.

5. We know that only Jesus, having gone through the tribulation and death to resurrection, can bring salvation and peace for all the people of this region of the world (cf. Acts 2: 23-24. 32-33). He alone is the Christ, the Son of God, that we proclaim! Let us therefore repent and convert that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come (Acts 3: 19-20a).

6. We wear this crown, hoping, one day, to have the joy of living in the Kingdom of Heaven. The crown of thorns will turn into a crown of glory.

Do not forget that we are co-heirs with Jesus and he will share his glory with us through the Holy Spirit Who crowns us with the grace of God, a glorious crown offered by a good and merciful God, an incorruptible crown which will last eternally (1 Peter 5, Jas 4 and 1.12).

During Lent, we learn to unite in prayer, in love with the person of Christ and with all human beings who suffer, and learn to meditate on the signs of the Passion and all that he suffered for us. The Blessed Mary, who accompanied Jesus in the crowning of the passion tells us that the Rosary is also a crown: a crown of prayers.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, may Blessed Mary guide us and keep us throughout Lent until the Holy Easter.

Amen.

Holy Land: The Situation of Christians in Jesus' Homeland

Cardinal John Foley tells how the Christians live between Muslim and Jewish fundamentalism

BY WLODZIMIERZ REDZIOCH - FEBRUARY 2010 INSIDE THE VATICAN Magazine

In your capacity as Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, you are particularly concerned about the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. What is the present situation of

Christians in Jesus’ homeland?

CARDINAL JOHN FOLEY: The paradox is that for Christians living in the Holy Land it is terribly hard to reach Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace. Getting to Bethlehem is easier for tourists than for the local Christians: lots of permissions are needed and there are lots of check points. At Christmas, the Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass. There were many people present, though not so many as in the previous years, owing to restrictions.

How do Christians live in the Holy Land?

CARDINAL FOLEY: Let’s quote some figures first of all: 60 years ago, 18% of the people who lived in the Holy Land (i.e., of Israel and Palestine) were Christians; now Christians have gone down to 2%.

A great number of Palestinians, even Christian Palestinians, have emigrated to Jordan, but most of them have gone to America and several European countries. Fortunately, Christians are looked at with favor in the countries that receive them, as they have a good education and are not regarded as extremists. Needless to say, the emigration of Christians is a great loss for the local Church.

Living conditions are worse in the Palestinian territories on account of the wall.

The wall divides the Palestinian camps and towns from Israel and even internally, and makes it difficult for the population to reach their jobs, schools, hospitals, etc. So life is hard for everybody in the Palestine region, especially for Christians. The situation is by far the worst in Gaza, an outdoor prison. But there are very few Christians there.

The struggle for the building of a Palestinian state was at first nationalistic, but now it has turned into a religious struggle: the Palestinians have embraced the cause of Islam. How does this affect the situation of Christians?

CARDINAL FOLEY: The Palestinian cause should not be seen as an Islamic cause: Palestinian society is made up of Muslims, but of Christians too, both Orthodox and Catholics. There were lots of Christian Palestinian leaders in the past; even nowadays there are some. But Christian Palestinian leaders have no connection with violent or extremist groups. An important fact must be remembered: the Palestinians are accustomed more than other Arabs to living in a multi-religious society. In the past believers of different faiths used to live together in peace. An example of this peaceful coexistence is that Catholic schools are open to Muslim students. During the Holy Father’s visit to the Holy Land, the king of Jordan, the Israeli prime minister and the president of the Palestinian Authority acknowledged the great contribution of the Catholic schools to peace and coexistence.

So Christians find themselves between Muslim and Jewish radicals. Everyone knows about the difficult situation of Christians in the Palestinian territories, but very little is said about Jewish fundamentalism (Orthodox Jews who spit at Franciscans and burn the New Testament) and of the imposed restrictions on Christians by the State of Israel…

CARDINAL FOLEY: When I first visited the Holy Land way back in 1065, I passed through Mandelbaum Gate, at the time marking the Israeli-Jordanian border and entered the Orthodox district of Measharim. I was carrying a suitcase, but it was a Saturday, Orthodox Jews began to throw stones at me.

Isn’t Israel now ruled by fundamentalists like those who threw stones at you?

CARDINAL FOLEY: This is a big problem facing the Netanyahu government (I would like to say the Israeli prime minister studied in my hometown of Philadelphia. I know the high school he went to and we talked about it in one of our meetings). He won the election appealing to the most extremist circles; now he presides over a government that intends to find a way out of the Palestinian conflict on the one hand and to meet the demands of the extremist parties on the other hand. Let us remember that Minister Avigdor Lieberman before the election suggested that all the Palestinians should be expelled and sent to other Arab countries.

The political context explains the difficulties confronting Catholic priests and religious since members of the Shas Jewish fundamentalist party too control the Israeli Interior Ministry. Israel is determined to cut down the length of residence permits for Catholic clergy to one year…

CARDINAL FOLEY: We would like Israel to guarantee movement for priests and seminarians. These are now afraid of leaving Israel in case they should not be allowed to return. Let’s hope that Israel will be induced to right this great injustice.

Restrictions on residence permits are not only an injustice, but also violate the 1993 Fundamental Agreement between Israel and the Holy See…

CARDINAL FOLEY: In my opinion the complete disappearance of the Christian community in the Holy Land would be a tragedy even for the State of Israel. Though remaining a Jewish state, Israel would be more credible accepting and respecting believers of other religions. This brings in, not only the question of the Israeli-Palestinian border, but also the question of the rights of minorities.

Eminence, you are the Grand Master of an Order which originated in Palestine. What do the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre do for Christians in the Holy land nowadays?

CARDINAL FOLEY: Members of our Order have two goals: deepening their spiritual life, which they also do through pilgrimages to Jesus’ homeland, and helping Christians in the Holy Land.

Since the year 2000, we have sent more than $50 million for the maintenance of parishes, schools, hospitals and other institutions. In other words, our concern is to guarantee the presence of Christians, i.e., of living stones in the Holy Land.

Do you cooperate with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem?

CARDINAL FOLEY: We send most of our aid through the Patriarchate. They lay down a scale of requirements and projects they intend to carry out; we do our best to help them. For example, we helped the Patriarchate to enlarge its seminary, since there is an increase in vocations.

It must be remembered that when Pius IX restored the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, he also restored the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher with the aforesaid purposes.

They say there will be peace in the world when there is peace in Jerusalem: what can we do to help Israel and the Palestinians to find a definite solution to their conflict?

CARDINAL FOLEY: We have no military or economic power to press the parties involved in this conflict. We make a different kind of contribution: as I said before, we have schools and social institutions to contribute to mutual understanding and reconciliation. The Holy See, on the other hand, has its’ own representative in Israel, the nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Franco, who has his office in Jaffa (the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel) and who serves as apostolic delegate in Jerusalem, one of whose tasks is to make sure that the rights of Catholics in the Holy Land are respected.

What can individual believers do?

CARDINAL FOLEY: In my opinion it is very important for Catholics to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visit places made sacred by Jesus’ presence; they should also meet local Christians and know about their problems. The organization of pilgrimages should also include encounters with the local community, i.e., the living stones of the Holy Land: this is a way to give them hope again.

Our Situation in the Holy Land

By H.E. William Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem

Speech given at HCEF International Conference, Oct. 2011

Introduction

Historical Palestine is a small country, only 25000 km2, but rich in history. It is the religious cradle of the Judeo-Christian world and a center of Islam. There, live two peoples, with two languages, and practicing three monotheistic religions. This small geographic area continues to handle a serious conflict for nearly one century. This conflict explodes every 10 or 12 years, and we cannot expect that it will be resolved in a short time, because of other major problems (Israeli settlements, return of refugees, the borders of the future Palestinian state and especially the question of Jerusalem). We live in a tense situation which causes both Israelis and Palestinians much frustration and bitterness. Sometimes, both become more reasonable. The exchange of prisoners last week was a good signal sent by both sides meaning that it is still possible to achieve something positive.

We also know that same causes lead to the same effects. Violence can explode at any time, and it can include the Holy Land and the entire Middle East. An example is the current tension between Turkey and Israel after the massacre of nine Turks on board a ship on the coast of Gaza. Tension can unleash a war. Another example: every time Fundamentalist Jews congregate and come up to the esplanade of the Temple Mount, it leads to a lot of tension that may one day ignite the entire region. The second Intifada began there. The Temple Mount remains a casus belli(cause of war) between Muslims and Jews, something that is difficult to resolve through negotiations.

In this part of the world lives a vibrant Christian minority, but its number continues to shrink.

Two important questions arise:

- How can this Christian minority live or survive?

- What hope have they for the future?

For reasons of methodology and time I will limit my talk mainly to Palestinian Christians.

I - Economy

The Palestinian Territories is a poor country. If we compare its situation with other neighboring countries in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and taking into account purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, we will have the following results from the World Bank:

Gaza is a bit apart from other Palestinian territories, because of the blockade and restrictions imposed that make humanitarian conditions deplorable and prevent the improvement in the situation. Restrictions affect the importation of raw materials. Poverty remains very high in the Palestinian territories:26% of Palestinians live in poverty. The World Food Program(WFP) indicates that 33% of Palestinians are currently in a state of food deficiency.

A - Resources:

In addition to foreign aid, particularly European and American aid which reached one billion dollars a year, there are five main resources of the Palestinian economy:

1. Stone industry: The industry provides the Palestinian economy $700 million a year. A fifth of the product is consumed in Palestine; the rest is mainly exported to Israel.

2. Religious tourism: Religious tourism has a strong potential for the future. The holy places are sacred to the three religions and can attract millions of pilgrims if there was peace and especially if Muslim pilgrims could obtain visas. In this case, the numbers could triple for hotels, restaurants, and buses because the number of pilgrims would rise from 3 million pilgrims a year today to 10 million as we dream. In addition to guides, hotels and restaurants who profit from the tourism industry, are the artisans. They make sacred objects from olive wood and mother of pearl. This craft industry brought into the country in the 14th century by the Franciscan friars now provides jobs for hundreds of Christians.

3. The third resource is from professions and jobs in the public and private sectors. Wages are generally low. An employee normally receives between 300 and 1,000 Euros a month. The great advantage of being an employee is the health insurance coverage which only 20% of the population has access, and others must arrange for coverage as they can. If the need to undergo surgery arises, they literally must beg to pay the cost.

4. Taxes and foreign aid: Palestinian Authority’s annual budget is $3.7 billion. Part of it is constituted by the taxes that Israel collects from Palestinians import and gives back to Palestinians. Since Oslo peace accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1994, Israel has been collecting taxes on behalf of the PNA every month. Israel usually transfers 100 million U.S. dollars every month into the PNA budget. The PNA uses the money to pay salaries of 148, 000 security and civil employees. Only $400 million are yearly collected in income and sales taxes within the West Bank and Gaza. The total income from taxes amounts to 1 billion 6oo million dollars. Why are domestic tax receipts so low? Because the economy is in constant recession and operates well below its potential, according to the World Bank.

What debilitates and cripples the Palestinian economy is Israel's