JERUSALEM, DEC. 11, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Given the current turmoil in the Holy Land, it is «inopportune» to have a live transmission of the Christmas midnight Mass on Israeli public television, says the Catholic custodian of the Holy Land.
Franciscan Father Giovanni Battistelli has two reasons for intending to refuse the public TV application to transmit the Mass, according to the religious communities' news service VID in Rome.
First, he is reported as saying, it is a mistake «to exclude the Bethlehem area» from the transmission, an area where people are «suffering and dying.»
Second, the Franciscan said he believes the transmission is inopportune because it would convey the idea «that peace reigns everywhere.» In reality, he said, there is the open question of the mosque authorized by the Israeli authorities next to the Nazareth basilica. Construction will soon start on the project, considered by many as tantamount to a provocation, he added.
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
11. desember 2000