This Saturday, May 24th, Pope Francis embarks on a three day journey to the Holy Land to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem. 

 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, told Barbara Castelli ahead of the journey that the fruits of Pope Francis’ visit will most likely be those of “encounter” that turns into “witness.” The Cardinal expressed his hope that the Pope’s meetings with the various Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in this  “particularly troubled land,” can “help all leaders and all people of good will to take bold decisions in the way of peace.”

 

 

 

The Vatican Secretary of State said that in its dialogue with Israelis and Palestinians, the Holy See wishes to see “the right of Israel to exist and to enjoy peace and security within internationally recognized borders; the right of the Palestinian people to have a sovereign and independent homeland,  the right to move freely, the right to live in dignity.”

 

Cardinal Parolin said that during the visit, Pope Francis will insist on these issues in line with Holy See policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urge that “the sacred and universal character of the city of Jerusalem , its cultural and religious heritage” be recognized  so that it may be “a place of pilgrimage for the followers of the three monotheistic religions .”

 

The highlight of Pope Francis’s pilgrimage will be an ecumenical meeting between the Pope and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople on Sunday at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre to recall the historic meeting between their predecessors Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras.

Cardinal Parolin observed that “ecumenism was one of the acquisitions of the Second Vatican Council,” that came after a lengthy process also within the Catholic Church.  He described the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Athenagoras  as “fundamental , crucial” to this ecumenical journey,  explaining that “sometimes gestures are needed more than words” and are “more eloquent than words.”

 

The Secretary of State said he hopes the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew will revive “this flame, this enthusiasm for the ecumenical journey” and all the initiatives already underway.  After all, he mused, it is “this spirit of enthusiasm and passion for unity” for which Jesus so ardently prayed at the Last Supper.

Observing the difficult times in which Christians are living in Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Cardinal Parolin expressed his certainty that “It will be a time of joy and comfort to all Christians living in the Holy Land.”   The  Pope, he said, “wants to underline, in his direct encounter with them, two things: that these Christians are living stones , and that without their presence, the Holy Land and the Holy Places themselves are likely to be transformed into museums, as we often say.” Their presence, he continued,  “assures us that there is a living Christian community and a living presence of the Risen Lord.”  Besides this “ecclesial dimension,” Cardinal Parolin pointed out that the Christians of the Middle East and the Holy Land play a key role in the societies and countries where they live.  “They sincerely want to put themselves at the disposal of their fellow citizens to build together a free, fair and democratic homeland.”

 

Senior Palestinian Official on his hopes for the papal visit to the Holy Land: 

How do the Palestinian authorities view this weekend’s pilgrimage  by Pope Francis to the Holy Land that includes a 6-hour visit  to Bethlehem in the West Bank?  Could it have any impact on the quest for peace in this land and specifically on the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians?  To find out the answers  Susy Hodges spoke to Dr Nabil Shaath, a former prime minister of Palestine and a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee during a visit to the Holy Land earlier this year.

 

Dr Shaath is convinced that Pope Francis’s visit will have a strong impact in view of his worldwide influence as a spiritual leader, saying,  “Any gesture he makes supporting peace with be important.”  He also believes that the papal visit will help provide solidarity and be a morale  booster  for Christians in Bethlehem by “supporting an end to the confiscation of territory” and also by encouraging the Christian population to remain in the Holy Land and not be forced to emigrate overseas.   

All in all, this papal visit, he says, will produce spiritual value and support and also produce influence (on the political level) to “support the Palestinian people and the Israeli people in their quest for a just peace.”

Vatican Radio

Source: news.va (May 22, 2014)