CATHOLICS AND JEWS APPEAL JOINTLY FOR SAKE OF JERUSALEM "We Are Partners in Articulating Moral Values," Says Panel, VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2004 (ZENIT.org)

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2004 (ZENIT.org).- A Catholic-Jewish panel made an appeal for respect of the sacred character of Jerusalem as well as of the various religious communities that live in the Holy City.

The exhortation was made in a press statement after the meeting of the bilateral committee of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the Grand Rabbinate of Israel, held at Grottaferrata, near Rome, from Sunday through today.

The theme of the meeting was "A Common View of Social Justice and Ethical Conduct." According to the text, the participants express that "there is not wide enough awareness in our respective communities of the momentous change that has taken place in the relationship between Catholics and Jews."

They stated: "We are not enemies, but unequivocal partners in articulating the essential moral values for the survival and welfare of human society."

After pointing out that "Jerusalem has a sacred character for all the children of Abraham," the Jewish and Catholic representatives appeal to "all relevant authorities to respect this character and to prevent actions which offend the sensibilities of religious communities that reside in Jerusalem and hold her dear."

The statement is signed by six members of the Jewish delegation, five of them rabbis, among whom are Shar Yishuv Cohen, former chief rabbi of Haifa, and David Rosen, international director for religious affairs.

The Catholic delegation was led by Cardinal Jorge María Mejía, retired archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, as well as Cardinal Georges Cottier, former theologian of the Pontifical Household.

"We call on religious authorities to protest publicly when actions of disrespect towards religious persons, symbols and Holy Sites are committed, such as the desecration of cemeteries and the recent assault on the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem," the committee members affirmed.

"We call on them to educate their communities to behave with respect and dignity towards people and towards their attachment to their faith," they concluded.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and Ricardo Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, were to analyze the state of the present Jewish-Catholic dialogue during a conference organized this afternoon at the Gregorian University.

On the 30th anniversary of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, established by Paul VI, Cardinal Kasper, accompanied by a delegation of the commission, will visit the Synagogue of Rome this Friday afternoon.

In statements on Vatican Radio, Father Norbert Hofmann, secretary of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, acknowledged that in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Catholics are discovering the Jewish roots of their faith.

"Jesus was Jewish, the Mother of God was Jewish, the apostles were Jews," he said. "Christianity has Jewish roots and we are increasingly rediscovering what we have in common."

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Catholic, Jewish leader urge respect for Jerusalem, Rome, Oct. 19 (CWNews.com), CWNews

Rome, Oct. 19 (CWNews.com) - A three-day meeting of Catholic and Jewish officials has concluded with a joint statement urging political leaders to respect the sacred character of the city of Jerusalem.

The statement punctuated the 4th session of dialogue arranged by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, together with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Rabbi Shar Yishuv Cohen of Haifa led the Jewish delegation; Cardinal Jorge Mejia, the retired Vatican archivist, was the top representative of the Holy See.

After three days of discussions in Grottaferrata, just south of Rome, the group issued a three-part statement. It began with a clear commitment to continuing the inter-religious dialogue: "We are not enemies, but unequivocal partners in articulating the essential moral values for the survival and welfare of human society."

The statement went on to affirm that "Jerusalem has a sacred character for all the children of Abraham." The group asked world leaders "to respect this character and to prevent actions which offend the sensibilities of religious communities that rely in Jerusalem and hold her dear."

The third point of the joint statement was directed at religious leaders, asking them to "protest publicly" against "actions of disrespect toward religious persons, symbols, and holy sites." The statement specifically mentioned a recent violent assault on the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem and the desecration of cemeteries.

DAY OF FASTING URGED FOR PEACE IN HOLY LAND Appeal by Bishops of North Africa and Arab Countries, VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2004 (ZENIT.org)

ROME, OCT. 19, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Bishops of North Africa and Arab countries made an appeal to Churches worldwide to show more commitment to peace in the Holy Land.

The prelates proposed to Catholics throughout the world to observe a day of fasting and prayer for this intention on Dec. 22.

The appeal was made as a conclusion of last week's meeting of the Conference of Bishops of the Region of North Africa (CERNA) and the Conference of Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA).

The bishops' primary concern was the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the Holy Land.

Jews, Christians and Muslims in that region, they said, feel "incapable of ending the conflict, fettered as they are in a spiral of cruel and irrational violence."

"The conflict in the Holy Land is the concern of all Christians, who are aware that their spiritual roots lie in the land of Christ's redemption," the bishops explained in the final statement of their meeting. The exhortation was signed by 22 bishops of the region.

The president of CELRA is Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem. The president of CERNA is Archbishop Fouad Twal of Tunis.

"We believe that the Churches can do still more," the bishops said in their statement. "If all the Churches of the world recognize their duty toward the Holy Land, and if they all join together in common and concerted action to sensitize their governments, their people and the international community, their intervention will become a decisive factor in the attainment of peace, justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land."

"Our Churches have received from the Lord a ministry of reconciliation," they continued. "We do not call you to take one side against another. On the contrary, we want you to help both sides find the way to reconciliation.

"We are calling for a new awakening in the Churches of the world, for a strong voice to be raised to promote peace in this Holy Land, where both peoples are in need of outside help in order to find peace and reconciliation.

"We, the bishops of the two conferences, propose to our communities that Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004, be a day of fasting and prayer for this intention. We ask you to unite with us, together with your own communities, in this or in any other initiative."

Among those signing the document were Archbishop Henri Teissier of Algiers and Latin-rite Archbishop Jean Sleiman of Baghdad.

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Vatican, Israel to resume talks in late October , Jerusalem, Oct. 12 (CWNews.com)

Jerusalem, Oct. 12 (CWNews.com) - Delegations representing the Holy See and the Israeli government will meet on October 17 and 28, to resume negotiations on a permanent agreement protecting the status of Church properties in the Holy Land. The two sides have set dates in December for the continuation of those talks.

"We hope to be able to finalize an accord by the end of this year," an Israeli diplomat told the Roman news agency I Media. "We are in a good position to overcome the remaining difficulties." Asked about the status of St. Louis Hospital in Jerusalem-- which has been threatened with crippling tax payments, in a clear violation of the "fundamental accord" signed by Israel and the Vatican in 1993-- the diplomat said that this was one of the "difficulties" still to be resolved. But he recalled that Israeli interior minister Avraham Poraz, during a September 2004 visit to Rome, had promised that Catholic institutions would not be required to pay taxes. The diplomat predicted that "he will keep that promise."

The resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Holy See is the latest chapter in a long story, which has produced mounting frustration among Vatican diplomats. The financial pact which is under negotiation was promised under the terms of the "fundamental accord" that opened the way to diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel in 2003. But a decade later, the pact was still not concluded. In August 2003, Israeli negotiators pulled out of talks, without explanation; the discussions were not resumed until-- under heavy diplomatic pressure from the US-- Israeli representatives returned to the bargaining table in July 2004.

However, the first meetings of the two sides in July produced no results, and Church officials quickly concluded that the Israeli representatives did not have authority to make any significant agreements. The talks were suspended once again, then resumed early in September. At that point, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio in Jerusalem, said that "positive" results had been seen.

Catholic hospitals and dying patients hunted by Israeli tax collectors, Jerusalem tax authorities have intensified a campaign of intimidation against Catholic institutions, in violation of the Agreement between the Holy See and Israel., 11 October, 2004 ISRAEL - VATICAN, Jerusalem (AsiaNews)

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The Jerusalem Municipality is threatening to confiscate the funds of St. Louis Catholic Hospital, if the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, who run this specialised hospital for the terminally ill, do not pay the property taxes, from which, by international law, they are exempt. The Municipal tax collectors have given the Sisters a deadline of the 31 October. At that time they are threatening to seize the health insurance contributions, which enable the sisters to care for some 50 terminally ill patients, Arabs and Jews; Christian, Jewish and Muslim patients. If the tax collectors seize the funds, the Sisters (who themselves are extremely few) will not be able to pay the wages of the support staff, and the dying patients may become homeless.

The crisis has been precipitated by the Jerusalem Municipality in defiance of the solemn treaty between the Holy See and the State of Israel - known as the Fundamental Agreement - of 30 December 1993. This treaty bars the Israeli authorities from enforcing tax demands that are disputed by the Catholic Church, until a new comprehensive treaty on these matters is signed between the Holy See and Israel. It is the firm position of the Holy See that the Sisters, like all other Catholic convents and institutions in Israel are exempted from municipal property taxes, in accordance with internationally binding norms, including the 29 November 1947 UN Resolution that is the basis for the international legitimacy of the creation of the State of Israel - as Israel itself acknowledges in its 14 May 1948 Declaration of Independence. There it is said explicitly that the Jewish State is being created "on the strength of the UN Resolution".

The Government of Israel, however, has consistently refused to recognise that it is bound by its solemn Agreement with the Holy See, and has in fact taken the explicit position in the Courts that the Agreement with the Holy See has no value. Recently, the influential Archdiocese of Cologne - which has several institutions in the Holy Land, has petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice to order the Government to state publicly for the record whether it recognises the solemn Agreement with the Holy See. Observers in Jerusalem said to AsiaNews: “It is possible that precisely because of the impending decisions in the High Court, the tax authorities have wished to intensify their campaign of intimidation against Catholic institutions, in violation of the Agreement”.

AsiaNews recalls that Israel's Interior Minister, Avraham Poraz, on a visit to the Vatican just weeks ago, said in an interview that Catholic institutions will not be required to pay the tax. The actions of the Jerusalem municipality belie that promise.

As for the Sisters of St. Joseph, they are anguished. On the one hand, they - like all other Catholic institutions - are under orders from the highest Authorities of the Catholic Church not to capitulate to the unjust and illegal demands of the Tax Authorities, since any break in the solidarity of Catholic institutions will make a mockery of the ongoing negotiations between the Catholic Church and the State of Israel, negotiations that aim precisely at a "comprehensive agreement" regarding all Catholic institutions. The next negotiating session on precisely this issue of municipal property tax is scheduled for 27-28 October, just days before the ultimatum given to the Sisters of St. Joseph. On the other hand, they cannot contemplate the prospect of putting out on the street the dying men and women for whom they care with such love and dedication. But this is precisely what the high pressure tactics of the municipality are banking on, that the sisters will break down, and that their surrender will open the floodgates to the unilateral surrender of all other Catholic institutions. Church authorities will not let that happen, sources in Jerusalem say.

The drama of St. Louis Hospital recalls the similar dramatic situation of St. Joseph's Hospital, which has been the subject of numerous diplomatic exchanges between the Holy See and the Government of Israel. In the case of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Government took the explicit position, in the Jerusalem District court, that the Fundamental Agreement had no value at all, and the Court accepted the Government's position. The Church has appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, where the case is still pending - together with the petition from the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Israel threatens action against Catholic hospital, Jerusalem, Oct. 11 (AsiaNews)