Christmas Message of Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem "There Seem to Be Prospects of Peace" JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org)

JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Here is the Christmas message of Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, presented today at a press conference held in the patriarchate's headquarters.

"I am listening. What is God's message? God's message is peace for his people, for his faithful, if only they renounce their folly" (Psalm 84[85]:9).

1. A Blessed and Joyous Christmas to all who seek peace and justice in this Holy Land. May the peace and joy of Christmas fill your hearts and minds. With all of you, and with the psalmist, "I am listening. What is God's message? God's message is peace for his people, for his faithful, if only they renounce their folly" (Psalm 84[85]:9).

We celebrate Christmas and we rejoice so as to renew our energies, learn patience, and conquer the forces of evil in our land. As we celebrate Christmas, we pray, we pray more than ever, we fast, and we purify our hearts and our intentions so that we might be filled with the holiness, life, love and strength of spirit that are needed to build the peace that seems so difficult, if not impossible, to attain.

2. At this time, there seem to be prospects of peace. We are hopeful that peace will indeed come about, after so many prayers, so many lives sacrificed, so many tears, and so much suffering. We hope that the political leaders will have the courage needed to sign a just and definitive peace and to accept the painful sacrifices this might entail either for themselves personally or for their people.

Each one of us has surely drawn lessons from the past violence that has destroyed the image of God in both the perpetrators and the victims, the oppressors and the oppressed. Though, in recent years, there have been many victims, much fear, many homes demolished, and much agricultural land devastated, we are still at the same point. Israelis are still looking for security, and Palestinians are still yearning for an end to the occupation, for their freedom and for their independence.

Yet, both peoples are destined to live together in peace. This is our conviction, and we believe that it remains possible.

3. However, the people must be freed from fear and given reasons to hope. It is the role of the leaders to facilitate this process. Palestinian leaders are now preparing for their elections with great calm and have adopted plans for peace. Israeli leaders are invited to do likewise by putting an end to their military interventions and by stopping the construction of the wall as well as the hunt for the wanted, which only increases the number of prisoners and dead. Peace cannot be held hostage to those who still see violence as a means of obtaining justice and peace.

For its part, the wall of separation will really never separate or protect. Quite to the contrary, it will only increase hate, ignorance of the other, and, therefore, hostility toward the other and, as a further consequence, violence and insecurity. What is needed is a search, in all humility, for the underlying causes of the violence. In all humility and sincerity, the cries of the poor and the oppressed must be heard. Ending the oppression and the humiliation of the Palestinians would at the same time put an end to the fear and insecurity of the Israelis. It would also put an end to those who are exploiting the attendant oppression and the poverty.

The wall of separation will not produce secure borders. Only friendly hearts can produce them. With friendly hearts, all borders will become pure symbols and disappear before the life and joy that will come from being able to live in peace and fraternity.

4. Religious leaders have a double role at this time: to continue insisting on justice, on the dignity of the human person, on security, and on the end to occupation. But at the same time, they must point out the paths to peace. Neither of the two peoples is condemned to continue offering up its youth to death. Each one has the desire and the right to see its young people live like their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The Israelis are not condemned to live eternally in insecurity and war. Likewise, the Palestinians are not condemned to live eternally asking for an end to the occupation and to remain on the road to death.

5. We have seen the life and we have heard what says the Lord. God says "peace for his people, for his faithful, if only they renounce their folly" (Psalm 84[85]:9). The Christian significance of Christmas is this: the Word of God has made his entrance into the world and has brought us life. Christmas is a promise of life, joy, and dignity in the presence of God who has chosen our land to be his dwelling: "No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. From his fullness we have all of us received" (John 1:18,16). Only in this perspective and in the presence of God can the peace of Jerusalem and of the Holy Land be built.

To all, a Blessed Christmas filled with Peace, Justice and Joy.

+ Michel Sabbah, Patriarch

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Patriarch demands peace in Holy Land Jerusalem, Dec. 22, 2004 (CWNews.com)

Jerusalem, Dec. 22, 2004 (CWNews.com) - In his annual Christmas message, the Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem has called both Israelis and Palestinians to work for lasting peace, while demanding respect for the rights of the Palestinian people.

Patriarch Michel Sabbah said that the birth of Jesus reminds believers that Christ is the Prince of Peace. But he added a warning: "He announces peace for his people-- as long as they do not resume their lives of foolishness."

Peace must be built on mutual security, the Patriarch said. And he charged that instead of increasing security, the wall built through Palestinian territory by Israeli officials "increases hatred, ignorance of others and therefore hostility toward them, violence and insecurity."

"Only friendly hearts are safe," the Palestinian prelate continued. "With friendly hearts, all border become purely symbolic, to be crossed by life, joy, peace, and brotherhood."

Patriarch Sabbah said that international leaders should press both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to recognize the innate dignity of the others, and to engage in meaningful peace negotiations. He said that the two sides have a mutual interest in building a secure peace: "Each people has the desire and the right to see its young people live, like all the other young people in the world."

The Patriarch pointed out that Bethlehem has become nearly a "prison" because of the walls surrounding the city where thousands of Christians will gather on December 24 for midnight Mass.

Jerusalem Patriarch Sees Hope for Peace But Insists That Roots of Violence Must Be Addressed JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org)

JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Peace in the Holy Land is a possibility but it should not be "held hostage" by those who insist on resorting to violence, says a patriarch in his Christmas message.

In the message presented today at the Latin-rite patriarchate's headquarters, Patriarch Michel Sabbah said: "At this time, there seem to be prospects of peace. We are hopeful that peace will indeed come about, after so many prayers, so many lives sacrificed, so many tears, and so much suffering."

"We hope," he continued, "that the political leaders will have the courage needed to sign a just and definitive peace and to accept the painful sacrifices this might entail either for themselves personally or for their people."

"Peace cannot be held hostage to those who still see violence as a means of obtaining justice and peace," the patriarch contended.

In his letter, he wrote: "We celebrate Christmas and we rejoice so as to renew our energies, learn patience, and conquer the forces of evil in our land."

The letter was published on the eve of the Day of Prayer and Fasting proposed to all Christians worldwide by the bishops' conference of the region of North Africa and the Latin-rite prelates' conference in the Arab regions.

Patriarch Sabbah stated: "Each one of us has surely drawn lessons from the past violence that has destroyed the image of God in both the perpetrators and the victims, the oppressors and the oppressed.

"Though, in recent years, there have been many victims, much fear, many homes demolished, and much agricultural land devastated, we are still at the same point. Israelis are still looking for security, and Palestinians are still yearning for an end to the occupation, for their freedom and for their independence."

"Yet, both peoples are destined to live together in peace," the patriarch emphasized. "This is our conviction, and we believe that it remains possible."

He contended that the barrier being built by Israel to isolate Palestinian territories and stop terrorist attacks "will really never separate or protect."

"What is needed is a search, in all humility, for the underlying causes of the violence," the prelate continued. "In all humility and sincerity, the cries of the poor and the oppressed must be heard.

"Ending the oppression and the humiliation of the Palestinians would at the same time put an end to the fear and insecurity of the Israelis. It would also put an end to those who are exploiting the attendant oppression and the poverty," affirmed the patriarch of Palestinian origin.

"The wall of separation will not produce secure borders," he added. "Only friendly hearts can produce them. With friendly hearts, all borders will become pure symbols and disappear before the life and joy that will come from being able to live in peace and fraternity."

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ISRAEL – PALESTINE Days that seem to announce peace, says Patriarch Michael Sabbah 21 December, 2004, Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies)

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In his traditional Christmas message Mgr Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, writes that this year the anniversary of Christ’s birth seems to be announcing “days of peace”. We must hope that “political leaders are courageous enough to sign a just and final peace, one that demands painful, yet indispensable personal and collective sacrifices”.

Four years of violence, he writes, should have taught us all that violence does not pay.

After all this time, “Israelis are still searching for security and Palestinians have not stopped demanding an end to occupation to be free and independent. Yet the two peoples are bound to live together in peace. We believe this is possible.”

“The separating wall,” Patriarch Sabbah adds, “can neither separate nor protect. It can only increase mutual hatred and ignorance; it can only be the object of hostility and violence and cause greater insecurity.” It is wishful thinking on Israel’s part to think that it can bring secure borders.

These days, religious leaders, the Patriarch says, have a double duty. They must “insist on justice, human dignity, security and an end to the occupation as well as show the path to peace.”

“Israelis are not condemned to live in permanent insecurity and war. Palestinians, too, are not condemned to always demand an end to the occupation and walk forever the paths of death”.

Day of Fasting Is Proposed for Peace in Holy Land JERUSALEM, DEC. 20, 2004 (Zenit.org)

Rome, Dec. 21, 2004 (CWNews.com) - The Catholic bishops of northern Africa and the Arabic world have organized a special day of prayer for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, on December 22.

Archbishop Henri Teissier of Algiers, speaking on behalf of the two episcopal conferences that joined in the initiative, has asked all of the world's Catholic bishops to promote the day of prayer. The proposal originated during a joint discussion, held in Rome in October, that brought together the bishops' conference of northern Africa (CERNA) with that of the Arab region (CERLA).

"It is a common appeal, addressed to all the bishops of the world during Advbent, for a moment when all thoughts will turn toward Palestine," Archbishop Teissier explained. He continued:

These two peoples, Palestinians and Israelis, are suffering. All the friends of the Holy Land must pull together, with all their strength, to allow these two peoples to work in peace. The appeal sent by CERNA and CERLA to the bishops' conferences of the world was originally drafted by the Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah. The initiative carried the endorsement of Cardinal Renato Martino (bio - news), the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. In their appeal, the organizers asked bishops to choose their own means of observing the day of prayer. In an interview with the Italian daily Avvenire , published on December 21, Patriarch Sabbah said that Christians have "a special mission" to play in bringing peace to the Holy Land. "We must make our contribution to ending the war between Palestinians and Israelis, and working to build a future of peace and common life," he said.

The day of prayer was suggested by 24 bishops from CERLA (a group that unites the bishops of the Holy Land, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Djibouti, and the Arabian peninsula) and CERNA (which includes bishops of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, and western Sahara. At their meeting in October, these bishops-- all of them representing small Christian minorities in predominantly Muslim societies-- said that the Israeli-Palestinian problem continues to threaten the security and welfare of their region.

Regretting that "blood is still being shed in the Holy Land," the bishops of CERNA and CERLA said: "We believe that the churches can always do more." They added: "If all the churches of the world joined in common and concerted action," urging their people and their government leaders to take action, "their intervention could be a decisive factor in winning peace, justice, and reconciliation for the Holy Land."

Center in Nazareth to Highlight Mary's Impact in History How She Influenced Art, Culture, Music and Thought ROME, DEC. 20, 2004 (Zenit.org)

ROME, DEC. 20, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A modern international center of art, spirituality and theological reflection is to be built in the Holy Land and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Jerusalem presented the initiative at the 21st International Marian Mariological Congress: "Mary of Nazareth Receives the Son of God in History." The congress was held earlier this month at the Lateran University.

The proposed center will be built across from the Basilica of the Annunciation, occupying 3,000 square meters (32,400 square feet). Bishop Marcuzzo said that the project is intended to "highlight Mary's role in history, starting from Nazareth."

Among the topics to be studied include "Nazareth in history, in the history of the Church, in the history of thought, in the history of culture, in the history of Christian art, in the history of iconography, in the history of images in general and in music," he said.

In addition, the bishop added, the center will highlight the "universal" importance of the city in which the Holy Family lived, "as all Marian shrines are, in a certain sense, a development of Nazareth, of Mary of Nazareth."

The idea, brainchild of the Nazareth's Muslim Mayor Tofit Zaiad, has been worked on since the 1990s, and is now making steady progress thanks to the support of the French-based Mary of Nazareth Association.

Several Marian shrines and centers on other continents have already expressed their desire to be associated with this initiative, members of the association told ZENIT.

In his address to the Mariological congress, Bishop Marcuzzo said that he was presenting this initiative on behalf of the Catholic bishops of the Holy Land, including Jerusalem's Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah, "but also on behalf of all the other heads of the churches of the Holy Land, as all are in agreement with the project."

He said that Jewish leaders are also enthusiastic about the project. The center also has the support of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

The Mariological Congress witnessed the first work carried out by the Mary of Nazareth Center: a multimedia image and sound performance presented in St. Anthony's Basilica in Rome, with original music composed by Thomas Pouring and performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as an exposition of artistic images.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to Israel and apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, said in a statement that he hopes this project "will enable visitors to discover the meaning and joy of Christian life."

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