Emboldened by an ultranationalist government promoting Jewish supremacy, young Israelis are increasingly targeting Christians in the holy land with hate crimes
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a mass on Easter Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on 9 April 2023
Lily Galili reports in
Middle East Eye 4 August 2023
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was taken by surprise when he learned that Pope Francis elevated him to the high rank of cardinal last month.
The archbishop, who recently warned against rising Israeli attacks on Christians in the birthplace of Christianity, interpreted it as “a sign of attention from the Church of Rome towards the Mother Church, the Church of Jerusalem”.
The nomination, the first extended to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since the patriarchal seat was re-established in 1847, is perceived as a clear statement by the Pope against rising Israeli violence in the Holy Land.
It came in the wake of the two-day Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, which left widespread destruction and 12 Palestinians killed.
“With sorrow, I learned again that blood has been poured out in the Holy Land,” the Pope said in the address, which was followed by Pizzaballa’s nomination to cardinal among 21 others.
Pizzaballa – who holds authority over Catholic churches in Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem – was quick to visit Jenin once the Israeli attacks stopped, inspecting the damage done to the Latin church in the city during the assault.
As the attack unfolded on 3 and 4 July, the cardinal-elect denounced the “unprecedented aggression” by Israel and the “barbaric acts” committed in the process.
But those following Pizzaballa and Pope Francis were not surprised by the unprecedented nomination, for the pontiff has repeatedly referred to the hardships of Christian minorities in the Middle East in recent decades.
“The Latin Patriarch’s nomination as cardinal is a strong message of empowerment to the Christian community in Israel in these difficult times,” Wadie Abu Nassar, the former media spokesperson of the Jerusalem-based Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, told Middle East Eye.
The Catholic social activist, who recently co-founded the Forum of Holy Land Christians aimed at promoting Christian interests, said these days he keeps getting asked the same question: about the worsening situation of Christians in Jerusalem and Israel.
More …
