Call to Christians: Pilgrims, come to the Holy Land, 19 November, 2004, ISRAEL - PALESTINE – HOLY LAND, Jerusalem (AsiaNews)

Representatives of all Churches: "The West, driven by secularism, is forgetting Christians".

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) -- "A call to all people of faith: Visit the Holy Land". This is the title of a document signed by representatives of different Christian denominations in Jerusalem this week, to encourage Christians around the world to resume visits to the Holy Sites.

On Monday, November 13, the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, papal representative Archbishop Pietro Sambi, and representatives of the Greek and Russian Orthodox, Armenian and Protestant Churches signed a joint statement urging Christians of the world to visit the Holy Land and, thus, contribute to preventing the exodus of Christians from these areas. It is the first time that Christians jointly sign a document of this kind.

"There are many things that divide Christians, but there are many more that unite us. The Holy Land is one of these," Fr. Pizzaballa said, echoing Pope John XXIII's famous phrase.

Archbishop Sambi referred to pilgrimages to the Holy Sites as times of "joy and spiritual enrichment", saying that they offer both spiritual and material encouragement to the small Christian communities there. Many Christian Palestinians in fact make a living thanks to religious tourism to the Holy Sites. Furthermore, pilgrims can create "an atmosphere of peace" that can contribute to "defusing the ever-tense political situation between Israelis and Palestinians."

The document bemoans the flight of Christians from the Holy Land. Today they make up only 1.6% of the population. "Along with the Christian exodus the Christian vision of man regarding the respect for the human person and human life is also disappearing, in a region in which these values are in open decline", the document states. It also laments the inaction of "governments of the Christian West", which, "driven by a false vision of religious freedom and perhaps by an exacerbated secularism," forget to help Christians and come to the aid of Palestinians for merely ideological and political motives. Speaking in support of the document, Israel's Minister of Tourism, Gideon Ezra, provided figures on the decline of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. This decline has been the result of security problems related to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. In 2000, Christians made up 60% of the 2.6 million tourists in Israel. In 2004, the percentage fell to 29. (LF)

HOLY LAND'S CHRISTIANS: GUARDIANS OF STONES? Discouragement Stalks the Faithful, Says Franciscan, JERUSALEM, NOV. 9, 2004 (Zenit.org)

JERUSALEM, NOV. 9, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Christians of the Holy Land need the warmth and presence of pilgrims if they are not to feel abandoned by the world, says the vicar of the Franciscan Custody.

In an interview with Spanish Catholic media on the situation in the Middle East, Father Artemio Vitores acknowledged the discouragement that Christians in general, and Catholics in particular, have suffered over the past four years of the intifada, the Palestinian uprising.

"It was sad to see Casa Nova, our house for pilgrims, with two people, or to go to the Holy Sepulcher and see no one," he recalled.

The priest continued: "And this has also created situations of crisis among the friars, not for financial reasons, but because it makes them wonder: 'What am I doing here?'

"I asked a friar in Tabga, next to Lake Tiberias: 'How many pilgrims came today?' 'Two.' If one is a scholar and likes to read, it's OK, but if you don't, you enter a crisis, and wonder: 'But what am I doing here? A guardian of stones? Very interesting, but still stones."

"Then there has been a movement -- and here one must acknowledge the role of the bishops' conferences, which are mobilizing to a degree, especially the Italian, but also the Spanish -- which I describe as 'coming to visit a sick person,'" added the Franciscan friar.

"We know that someone who is sick is not cured with one visit, but at least you give him a feeling of solidarity, of support, and I believe this is very important," he said. "Aside from the financial aspect, which gives the possibility of work to so many people, it is above all a question of solidarity: that Christians here can see that Christians worldwide are thinking of them."

"In the Christian world, especially at the level of nations, such as Spain, Italy, or France, the topic of Christianity does not resonate," he added. "Christians here wonder: 'Well, aren't these nations Christian? Aren't they at all interested in the Christianity of the Holy Land? What the Holy Land means for the Christian world? And this creates a crisis for them."

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PROPERTY TAX QUESTION STILL UNRESOLVED IN ISRAEL Holy See Joins 2 Days of Talks in Jerusalem, JERUSALEM, NOV. 2, 2004 (Zenit.org)

JERUSALEM, NOV. 2, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The question of the Church's access to civil courts and its payment of municipal property taxes in Israel remains unresolved, following recent talks with Israel.

Though no official statement was released, nor any mention made in the local media, delegations of the Holy See and Israel held two days of negotiations in Jerusalem, Oct. 27-28.

AsiaNews sources said the talks took place "in a very cordial atmosphere and there has been some progress on questions of a technical-juridical nature."

Unresolved, however, is Israel's refusal to guarantee the Church access to the courts to protect religious properties and the issue of municipal property taxes, of which the Church is exempt -- a fact that Israel does not recognize -- as established by the United Nations.

"The guarantee to access to judicial power for the resolution of all disputes and controversies involving ecclesiastical property is an essential requirement of principle because it entails one of the foundations of the rule of law," explained Father David Jaeger, an expert in juridical issues of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Controversies involving property law "must be decided by an independent judicial power and not by politicians," the Franciscan said told AsiaNews, an agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

"I hope as a jurist but also as an Israeli, that on this point Israel will be faithful to the idea that it holds of itself: that of a lawful state," he said.

Regarding the municipal property tax, Father Jaeger said that it is legally impossible for Israel to contravene U.N. declarations, mentioned in Israel's own Declaration of Independence.

Moreover, the "Church does not have and will not have the money to pay for taxes because it gets by mainly on charity from Catholics around the world," added the Franciscan spokesman.

The state's expectation that the Church pay municipal property taxes "could entail a reduction of the Church's presence in the area," Father Jaeger warned. "I hope this is not anyone's aim."

The juridical expert of the Custody of the Holy Land said, however, that past experience gives reason for optimism. "By the good will of both parties, these negotiations will give a positive outcome, with due respect for the rights of both parties," he said.

"The fact remains that recognition of the validity of the Fundamental Agreement, signed by both parties in 1993, depends on the conclusion of the current negotiations," he noted.

Under the 1993 agreement, the Holy See accepted Israel's request to establish diplomatic relations.

The document articulates the regulatory principles of relations between the Church and the state, while its implementation was postponed until a series of complementary agreements -- negotiated successively -- ensures the freedom and rights of the Church in Israeli territory.

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