In the East, tradition becomes law. And it must be followed. That is why, again this year, the Custos of the Holy Land, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, accompanied by the Vicar, Brother Artemio Vitores and by Brother Ibrahim Faltas, pastor of Saint Saviour’s Parish in Jerusalem and director of relations with the Palestinian Authority, went to Ramallah to invite President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) to Bethlehem on the night of December 24th, when Holy Mass will be celebrated in Saint Catherine’s Church, adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity. The invitation includes a fraternal dinner with the Franciscans, which this year will take place in the nearby Casa Nova.
The evangelical simplicity of the Franciscan spirit has always been able to humanize ceremonial occasions and to turn a formal meeting into a fraternal encounter. And so it was. Between the President and his aides, Mr. Iltayeb Abdel Rahim, Secretary of State; Dr. Rafiq el-Husseini, Presidential Bureau Chief; and Mr. Yaryui, Director of Christian Affairs; and other cabinet members present, and the three Franciscan friars an atmosphere of friendship and collaboration was quickly established.
In the current, difficult context, the President’s activity was positively evaluated and he was wished peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people who have suffered so much. Although the climate is tense, the Franciscans thanked the Palestinian Authority for its efforts to create a festive, Christmas atmosphere in Bethlehem, thanking them, too, for the new lighting and the presents given to the children. For their part, the Franciscans have always given their help to the Palestinian population, and their 800 years of presence in the Holy Land is sufficient proof of that. This help is currently seen in the construction of new homes for Christian Bethlehemites and in the friars’ commitment to education, evidenced by their schools. With regard to this last point, we showed the President the difficulties caused by integrism.
We did not forget to thank the President, who, although he is Muslim, intervened to find a solution to a problem among Christian religious communities, smoothing the difficulties that arose around the key to the Basilica of the Nativity.
It was half an hour of cordial encounter that, without silencing the difficult situation of the Palestinian people, brought a breath of hope, in the spirit of the Franciscan greeting, “Peace and Goodness”.
Brother Artemio Vitores ofm
The evangelical simplicity of the Franciscan spirit has always been able to humanize ceremonial occasions and to turn a formal meeting into a fraternal encounter. And so it was. Between the President and his aides, Mr. Iltayeb Abdel Rahim, Secretary of State; Dr. Rafiq el-Husseini, Presidential Bureau Chief; and Mr. Yaryui, Director of Christian Affairs; and other cabinet members present, and the three Franciscan friars an atmosphere of friendship and collaboration was quickly established.
In the current, difficult context, the President’s activity was positively evaluated and he was wished peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people who have suffered so much. Although the climate is tense, the Franciscans thanked the Palestinian Authority for its efforts to create a festive, Christmas atmosphere in Bethlehem, thanking them, too, for the new lighting and the presents given to the children. For their part, the Franciscans have always given their help to the Palestinian population, and their 800 years of presence in the Holy Land is sufficient proof of that. This help is currently seen in the construction of new homes for Christian Bethlehemites and in the friars’ commitment to education, evidenced by their schools. With regard to this last point, we showed the President the difficulties caused by integrism.
We did not forget to thank the President, who, although he is Muslim, intervened to find a solution to a problem among Christian religious communities, smoothing the difficulties that arose around the key to the Basilica of the Nativity.
It was half an hour of cordial encounter that, without silencing the difficult situation of the Palestinian people, brought a breath of hope, in the spirit of the Franciscan greeting, “Peace and Goodness”.
Brother Artemio Vitores ofm