Christmas Message of His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Below is the full text of the 2010 Christmas Message from His Beatitude Fouad Twal,
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem: "I welcome all of you journalists present here and thank
you for your role in providing information and conscience formation, and for your
commitment to the truth". The message of the recent Synod recognized your role:
"We appreciate the role of the means of social communication, both printed and audio-visual.
We thank you journalists for your collaboration with the Church in broadcasting her
teachings and activities." (Nuntius 4.4) To all of you and all the people of Israel,
Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full
of surprises at the global, local, and personal levels, and a year of peace and prosperity.
I greet the Bishops here present: Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, our Patriarchal
Vicar in Israel, and our new Auxiliary Bishop and Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem
and the Palestinian Territories, Bishop William Shomali, who was ordained last May
and comes with a new energy to help us in our mission. I also welcome Rev.Fr. David
Neuhaus, SJ, our Patriarchal Vicar in Israel for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community.
Like last year, I would like to present the important events that have happened
this year, here in our Patriarchate. I would like to emphasize above all the positive
events without, however, excluding the suffering and the concerns that remain. 1
-We thank our Holy Father for having convened the Synod for the Middle East, held
in Rome from the 10th to 24th of October 2010. During that time, we were able to put
our fingers on our wounds and our fears, and at the same time express our expectations
and our hopes. The Synod called on Christians in the Middle East to live as true believers
and good citizens, not distancing from public life, but involved in the development
of our communities, whether in Arab countries or in Israel. The Synod also stressed
the importance of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. We hope that this dialogue
will advance not only within intellectual circles, among scholars and theologians,
but be a dialogue of life, for all segments of society. The Synod condemned violence,
religious fundamentalism, anti-Semitism, anti-Judaism, anti-Christianity and Islamophobia,
and called on religions “to assume their responsibilities in promoting dialogue among
cultures and civilizations in our region and in the entire world.” (Nuntius 11) 2
- Religious tourism and pilgrimages in the Holy Land are experiencing record numbers.
In November 2010, three million people have visited the Holy Places. This number could
still increase to arrive at nearly 3.4 million visitors, a figure never reached before,
even in 2000, the Jubilee Year, which recorded very significant results. This reflects
the universal dimension of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, the welcoming reception
extended to pilgrims by our people and our Churches, and the good work of the Ministries
of Tourism in Israel and Palestine. 3 - I wish to highlight the improvement in
the process of obtaining visas for religious, seminarians and volunteers. I thank
all those who worked to achieve this result. We still have a long way to go. 4
- On December 7th, talks resumed between the Holy See and the Palestinian Authority
for the application of the basic agreement signed in 2000. The deliberations focus
on religious freedom and fiscal legislation. We pray for the success of these negotiations
and those already under way with Israel. 5 - Last November, I had the joy of visiting
several countries in Latin America: Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Honduras. I met
with the bishops of these countries, top government and civilian authorities, and
especially our faithful living in the ‘diaspora.’ In Chile alone, there are over 400,000
who emigrated between 1900 and 1950, because of poverty and security problems. Now
they are all well integrated into the local society, and many have expressed their
willingness to support our projects in the Holy Land and come on pilgrimage. Among
the major projects that the Latin Patriarchate is trying to accomplish, I would like
to mention: the new pediatric hospital in Bethlehem which will be named after Pope
Benedict, the University of Madaba, which will open in October next year, and the
new Pilgrims’ Center in Jordan, on the site of the Baptism of Christ. 6 - We were
very concerned about the fire that destroyed entire forests in the Haifa area. We
offer our condolences to the families of victims, and our admiration for the courage
of those who died in the line of duty. This sad event made us experience international
solidarity. The fact that the Palestinian Authority made available their team of firefighters
was a very significant gesture and may be a beginning of a fruitful collaboration
in the future, when peace will be stablished in this troubled land. 7 - We suffer
from the failure of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
This should not lead us to despair. We continue to believe that on both sides, and
in the international community, there are men of goodwill who will work and put their
energies together in their commitment for peace. We believe that nothing is impossible
with God and we want to carry out the wishes sang by the angels on Christmas night
: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”(Lk.2
:14) We also wish Europe to play a more significant role in this process. 8 -
We were shocked and troubled by the massacre of Christians in Baghdad in the Church
of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. These innocent victims are added to the thousands of
victims of fundamentalism and violence afflicting our world. Readily, I echo the words
of Pope Benedict: "Given the violence that continue to tear the peoples of the Middle
East, I would like to renew my urgent appeal for peace. Peace is a gift of God. It
is also the result of efforts by men of good will, of national and international institutions,
all working together to put an end to all violence! " Dear friends, let me conclude
this message with my good wishes for a reconciliation between our peoples, the Israelis
and the Palestinians. It is time to commit ourselves together for a genuine, true
and long-lasting peace. May the joy of Christmas be in our hearts and peace upon
all of you. Merry Christmas! +Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch Listen to Chris Altieri's
report: