The Middle East Testimony

In the Land of Hope,
Against all Hope
In the voice of Archbishop Twal, the coadjutor Archbishop of the Roman rite faithful in Jerusalem, we hear the drama of the Holy Land and the anxiety for the exodus of Christians. “It is true that the difficulties are immense, but so are the expectations”

by Riccardo Piol

In his eyes, the war in Lebanon, the missiles launched against Israel, the events happening today, and in his mind, the specter of an even more tragic future, the image of what could happen tomorrow. He is worried because it seems the word “peace” has been banished from the Holy Land. After thirteen years as Archbishop of Tunis, Archbishop Twal has returned to his diocese of Jerusalem as coadjutor Archbishop of the Roman rite faithful, and does not deny that “the general impression one can have, returning after a long time to Jerusalem, is that the situation is continually worsening.” The most recent events cause him to fear that “the harsh destiny of the Holy City can extend to the entire Middle East, even to all of human history.”

The chosen city
He cites Psalm 87: “Poor city of God… it seems the Lord no longer sustains you,” but also 127: “We will never forget Jerusalem, city of peace, prized above all joys.” The paradox that seems to separate these two affirmations provides Twal the reason for his hope. His outlook on the Holy Land is entirely animated by the irrefutable fact that Jerusalem, today symbol of continual conflict, remains God’s chosen city, the place that conserves the “book of record of all our names,” sign of the destiny of every man and at the same time reverberation of the conflict in which the entire world lives. Before reviewing Jerusalem’s history of continual suffering, and rather than making it the object of pure political analysis, Twal invites everyone to look at it with the strength of the judgment of faith. “We must never forget that the Holy Land is the land of surprises, among which the greatest is that offered by Jesus on Easter morning. Letting ourselves slip into pessimism could generate a fatalistic mentality, which does not belong in the Holy Land. Jerusalem is the land of “hope against all hope,” according to the expression of the Apostle Paul, because in that place, humanity was reached by the power of the Omnipotent; this was where the fact happened that changed the course of history and revealed the true destinies of humanity.”

Courageous gestures
Speaking of the situation of constant instability in the Middle East, he says, with pained irony, that “instability is the only stable thing we have, from the point of view of politics, economics, society, culture, etc.” But when it comes to concrete discussion of the current situation, he doesn’t mince words: “The situation has deteriorated so badly that it’s useless to continue denouncing it. There have been so many denunciations, so very many condemnations and clear international resolutions, with meager results. By now, we’re saturated with them. Rather, we want to announce that Jerusalem is the Holy City, and that courageous gestures are required of the political leaders to attain a just and lasting peace for all. You cannot govern under the pressure of fear and mistrust, imposing yourself with the force of weapons or terrorism.” Peace, which he defines as “the most evident and vital need, without which nothing is possible,” has, however, a price that nobody seems willing to pay, as well as conditions, the three “cornerstones” indicated by the Pope at the beginning of the war in Lebanon, which are “the right of the Lebanese to the integrity and sovereignty of their country, the right of the Israelis to live in peace in their nation, and the right of the Palestinians to have a free and sovereign homeland.”

The exodus
of the Christian community
In this setting of widespread conflict and permanent instability, “the state of mind of the Christian community,” says Twal, “is that common to the entire population: reflecting on and questioning what one’s task is, wearied by a certain discouragement, not seeing what one’s prospects can be.” The sense of being isolated and abandoned weighs greatly on the small Christian minority that, already meager, is diminishing even more because of continuous departures. It is an exodus that also is striking the Muslim and Jewish communities. But, Twal underlines, “the hemorrhage of the Christian community is not only tied to recent facts; it is happening throughout the Middle East, and is particularly grave. Without this community, the Holy Land would lose an essential element of its identity. Thus, an urgent effort is needed on the local and international level to help Christians remain in place.” In this sense, recognition should be given to the initiatives run by the various Christian Churches in the Holy Land, such as housing projects for young couples, scholarships for students and seminarians, and support for schools. “But the problem exceeds the possibilities of the Churches. Peace and faith in the future are the true solution for stopping the migratory phenomenon” and thus require the international commitment that to date has been ineffective, if not absent.

The challenge of the faith
Twal knows that there is no easy solution, and understands the politicians’ difficulties “in adopting clear and well-defined positions;” he speaks of the “risk of heading for political suicide” and invites them to “speak little, love more, and help even more,” without however avoiding the responsibility of denouncing the daily injustices and violence. He says that “each person, Palestinian or Israeli, supporter of one side or the other, must be honest enough to recognize the limits of his point of view, and open himself to the problems of the opposing part.” His realism and his considerations, which in the mouth of many others would seem utopian declarations of intent, are founded on the direct experience of the Christian community. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem gathers faithful who are Arab and Israeli citizens, who in the conflict find themselves on opposite sides, who live as a minority in different societies that are enemies to each other, and in which, in addition, the Church is not well accepted. For this reason, says Twal, “we are called to discover our Christian and personal identity, through the troubled history of Jerusalem, through the torments of our faithful, for a great increase in the faith and a renewal of our communities, because a faith of mere social and ethnic belonging is insufficient; it cannot respond to the challenges that arrive daily.”

Jerusalem: city of peace
“It is true that the difficulties and challenges are immense, but so are the expectations.” The expectation of peace is a hope that has traversed centuries of violence and conflicts in the Holy Land without ever fading, for, notwithstanding everything, Jerusalem remains the city of peace. “God,” says Twal, “has guided His project of salvation on Jerusalem and from Jerusalem, sung by the Psalms and described by the prophets as the city on the hill to which all the peoples of the earth will flow. In evaluating these situations, we must acknowledge that we all are a bit partisan and often stubbornly divided in our judgments. The future of humanity is in the recognition of freedom, as God desired it for individuals and for entire peoples. It is our responsibility to work in this sense, but also, above all, to pray for peace, so long yearned for and awaited, seemingly so far away. Let us take care that our prayer not be faulty, that is, for one part. Prayer of intercession, like that pronounced on Golgotha, excludes no one, not even those “who do not know, or who know all too well, what they do.”