Knights on a Quest for Peace: The Grand Master of the Equestrian Order
of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Cardinal John Patrick Foley will be accompanying
Pope Benedict XVI on his journey to Cyprus this Friday and will be participating in
the upcoming Synod of Bishops for the Churches in the Middle East.
He spoke
to us about the great challenge of supporting the Churches in the Middle East, the
cradle of the Universal Church:
“Cyprus is part of the Latin Patriarchate of
Jerusalem, it was a place visited by St Paul and its Christian roots go back to the
first century. So we are looking for first of all, for the document that is going
to be the basis for our work in preparation for the Synod of Bishops for the Middle
East. Then we are looking forward to an encounter with the Greek Orthodox in particular,
who form the majority religion on Cyprus and we are looking forward to an encouragement
of the small but important Catholic community on Cyprus, which consists not only of
members of the Latin Patriarchate but also of Maronites, and of Armenians. And also
of course we are looking forward to the Pope’s messages in which is hope d we will
see progress ecumenically on the part of the Catholic church in the Middle East and
believers in the world, for a deeper knowledge and respect for the Church in the Middle
East”.
Q. Do you think the Universal Church sometimes underestimates the
importance of the Christian Communities in the Holy Land?
“Well I had the privilege
of being with the Holy Father on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and we had about
50 Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre there at the time, just as we will have
about 70 Knights and Ladies in Cyprus. But as you say the Holy Father said more than
‘Hang in there’ to the Christians there, he stressed the importance of the presence
of the Christian Communities and especially the Catholics in the Holy Land and Middle
East and I personally had the opportunity to exchange a few words with King Abdullah
of Jordon, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel - who by the way did his high school
studies outside Philadelphia my home town –President Abbas of the Palestinian Territories
and all three stressed the importance of Catholic education in their three areas,
because they all said that Catholic schools, that are open to all, are a very important
factor in creating mutual understanding, love and reconciliation. They all said the
presence of Catholic education in their lands is an important factor for future peace.