Julebudskapet fra Den latinske patriarken

I sitt årlige julebudskap, uttrykker Den latinske patriarken av Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, sin sorg over palestinernes situasjon, og ber om en fremtid "uten antisemittisme, uten islamofobi, uten frykt og hat":

"Palestinians still do not have their own State where they can live in peace and harmony with their Israeli neighbors; they still suffer from Occupation, difficult economical situation, destruction of houses in East Jerusalem and internal divisions, thousands of persons living in Jerusalem or Gaza or the Palestinian Territories are waiting for family reunion; one year after Gaza war, Gaza still suffers from economical siege, lack of freedom of movement and from the contamination of its sea and water, which endangers the health of 1.500.000 citizens among which 50% are under the age of 14".

"Israelis live under great fear which prohibits them from taking courageous decisions to end the conflict. The Separation Wall is a material manifestation of this fear. On another side, we had strongly hoped that the exchange of prisoners between Israelis and Palestinians would succeed and give hope to the Palestinians and Israelis. We feel frustrated by the delay".

Patriarken kommenterer også pave Benedikt XVIs besøk til Det hellige land tidligere i år, og konkluderer:

"The best gift we seek, above money and wealth, is peace. It is the wish of all the inhabitants of this Land: Israelis and Palestinians alike. Peace is a gift of God for men of good will. We have to deserve it. We are sure that there are many men and women of good will among Israelis and Palestinians. We pray that one day, the beautiful vision of Isaiah will become a reality: "In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it ... they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Is. 2: 2-5)".

Christmas Message 2009 (Det latinske patriarkat i Jerusalem)

Gaza Christians hoping to go to Bethlehem for Christmas (AsiaNews)

Patriarcat Latin de Jérusalem; Andreas Dingstad (22. desember 2009)