Bringing the Holy Land with its needs and its fascination closer to the Christian community, but also to the lay world, to communicate this reality and also to ask for support and aid: these are the worlds of the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa in an exclusive interview on fund-raising. Corrado Paolucci, a volunteer of ATS pro Terra Sancta, met the Custos in the phase of the final drafting of his degree thesis on fund-raising, to look at a subject which is delicate but very important to continue supporting the Christian presence in the Holy Land and for the maintenance of the Holy Places: the request for aid.
The Holy Land is a heritage that all Christians are asked to cherish and protect. Hoe can this need be communicated to the Christian world?
The first thing to point out is that Christianity is not a spiritual doctrine but a revelation. It is a historic revelation, it is an incarnation in the history of mankind, so first of all it is a fact and not something thought out or imagined and it is a fact that therefore has a very precise place where it was first manifested, which is the Holy Land.
Therefore, those who know the Mystery made flesh. those who want to know more about the revelation of Jesus, also want to know the place of this revelation. If you want to know a person, you also want to know where they live. This makes this heritage, this greatness preserved in the Holy Land tangible and real.
The Franciscans want to let everybody collaborate on the task that the Universal Church ash entrusted to them: to preserve the Holy Places and support the Christian presence in the Holy Land. This opening of the Custody is a charity for the other who thus has the privilege of taking part in this great mission. How can all this be communicated? Which instruments can be used?
It is precisely in this perspective that aid fits in; the request for support exists because there is a real context, there is a living presence and a desire to take part in it.
Therefore all the means of social communication available have to be used to be seen and to be known. Today in the world, what is seen has worth and what does not emerge is not listened to. The use of the media guarantees visibility at a global level and is essential to inform about the facts and the needs of these places.
In addition to the mass media, the gesture of the pilgrimage is also fundamental; our first invitation is to discover the experience of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, not only to see but also to “touch with their hand”, to have the experience of these places where Jesus lived. A person who has already been here has a different expression in their eyes, greater attention for this land and in some way keeps a bond with it and wants to help it from their home as well.
As far as the lay world is concerned, how can the need of the Holy Land be communicated? What is the connection between the needs of the Christians in the Holy Land and the political conflict?
This land, as well as being where Christianity originated, is also a setting of conflicts and it is right to remember this, but there are different ways of doing so and it depends on who does it. Of course, if a politician or a person who has a political purpose in their demand then it is something different.
As the Custody, we are religious who do not give up our own style, even in dialogue with the lay world. We take into account who is in front of us to avoid language that is excessively rhetorical or spiritualistic, but it must be added that the real layman does not refuse a religious attitude, on the contrary he is interested and wants to know it.
Can we learn from the Jews as far as their capacity for helping one another is concerned? From their capacity to form the memory of their ideal both as a people and as a homeland?
The Jewish people have a strong sense of belonging to their land of origin and to their people wherever they are in the world an this is a positive aspect that makes them unique and even mysterious. I believer their unity a great model of a common belonging to consider and to understand because whatever happens this bond never weakens, but we can say that it is reinforced and renewed.
Interview by Corrado Paolucci, ATS pro Terra Sancta
The Holy Land is a heritage that all Christians are asked to cherish and protect. Hoe can this need be communicated to the Christian world?
The first thing to point out is that Christianity is not a spiritual doctrine but a revelation. It is a historic revelation, it is an incarnation in the history of mankind, so first of all it is a fact and not something thought out or imagined and it is a fact that therefore has a very precise place where it was first manifested, which is the Holy Land.
Therefore, those who know the Mystery made flesh. those who want to know more about the revelation of Jesus, also want to know the place of this revelation. If you want to know a person, you also want to know where they live. This makes this heritage, this greatness preserved in the Holy Land tangible and real.
The Franciscans want to let everybody collaborate on the task that the Universal Church ash entrusted to them: to preserve the Holy Places and support the Christian presence in the Holy Land. This opening of the Custody is a charity for the other who thus has the privilege of taking part in this great mission. How can all this be communicated? Which instruments can be used?
It is precisely in this perspective that aid fits in; the request for support exists because there is a real context, there is a living presence and a desire to take part in it.
Therefore all the means of social communication available have to be used to be seen and to be known. Today in the world, what is seen has worth and what does not emerge is not listened to. The use of the media guarantees visibility at a global level and is essential to inform about the facts and the needs of these places.
In addition to the mass media, the gesture of the pilgrimage is also fundamental; our first invitation is to discover the experience of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, not only to see but also to “touch with their hand”, to have the experience of these places where Jesus lived. A person who has already been here has a different expression in their eyes, greater attention for this land and in some way keeps a bond with it and wants to help it from their home as well.
As far as the lay world is concerned, how can the need of the Holy Land be communicated? What is the connection between the needs of the Christians in the Holy Land and the political conflict?
This land, as well as being where Christianity originated, is also a setting of conflicts and it is right to remember this, but there are different ways of doing so and it depends on who does it. Of course, if a politician or a person who has a political purpose in their demand then it is something different.
As the Custody, we are religious who do not give up our own style, even in dialogue with the lay world. We take into account who is in front of us to avoid language that is excessively rhetorical or spiritualistic, but it must be added that the real layman does not refuse a religious attitude, on the contrary he is interested and wants to know it.
Can we learn from the Jews as far as their capacity for helping one another is concerned? From their capacity to form the memory of their ideal both as a people and as a homeland?
The Jewish people have a strong sense of belonging to their land of origin and to their people wherever they are in the world an this is a positive aspect that makes them unique and even mysterious. I believer their unity a great model of a common belonging to consider and to understand because whatever happens this bond never weakens, but we can say that it is reinforced and renewed.
Interview by Corrado Paolucci, ATS pro Terra Sancta