Representative of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem prays for "end of Israeli occupation and injustice." Please forward to your friends. May everyone have a Merry Christmas and please remember the Palestinians in your thoughts, prayers and actions.
Ed CorriganLatin Patriarch prays for end of Israeli ‘occupation and injustice’
Fuad Twal awaits ‘manifestation of the saviour's grace’ to end Israeli occupation of Holy Land.
Latin Patriarch prays for end of Israeli ‘occupation and injustice’
Fuad Twal awaits ‘manifestation of the saviour's grace’ to end Israeli occupation of Holy Land.
JERUSALEM - The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem on Tuesday prayed for an end of Israeli "occupation and injustice" in the Holy Land and voiced concern for the future of the Holy City he said is "strangled by [Jewish] settlements."
"As Bethlehem waited throughout history for the one who would 'smash the yoke that burdened' the people... so we are awaiting a manifestation of the saviour's grace that will put an end to the occupation," Fuad Twal said in his Christmas message.
He also expressed concern for the future "in the homeland of Christ" of the Christian community whose numbers are dwindling, and particularly for the future of occupied Jerusalem.
"We do not forget what divides us: greed mixed with injustice, violence and man's persecution of his fellow man. All these beset the Holy City, not mentioning the building of settlements which strangle it," said Twal, the leader of Roman Catholics in the Holy Land.
He spoke out sternly against the separation barrier and the hundreds of roadblocks that restrict movement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
"With pain and deep sadness, we observe civilians being blockaded by the erection of walls and barriers. These contribute to the creation of violence and humiliation, generating grudges and hatred," he said, reading his message before journalists in Jerusalem.
He also addressed the situation in Gaza City, where Israel recently tightened a crippling embargo.
"Together with all the Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East, we turn to our faithful and to all the citizens of the Holy Land, living in deteriorating conditions, especially the unjust siege that has struck Gaza and the hundreds of thousands of innocent residents there," Twal said.
"We also call upon the Palestinians themselves to return to unity in the context of a recognised Palestinian legal structure, and in this way to spare the people the continuing and degrading siege."
Born into a Bedouin Christian tribe in Jordan in 1949, Twal was enthroned in June as the new Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, the title given to the Latin rite Roman Catholic archbishop of Israel and Palestine.
He replaced Michel Sabbah, who retired at the age of 75.
The Palestinian territories, which include the West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem, have been under illegal Israeli occupation since 1967.
Gaza is still considered under Israeli occupation as Israel controls air, sea and land access to the Strip.
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