BETHLEHEM, December 25, 2009 (WAFA)- In presence of President Mahmoud Abbas, the Patriarch of Latin in Jerusalem, Fouad Twal said “Peace and non-violence should replace hatred, war and violence war and violence.
In his Homily at the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the Patrich added “spirit should prevail over matter; openness to others, hospitality and availability towards them should break down the walls of separation and isolation.”
On behalf of all the faithful of the parishes of Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus, and on behalf of the faithful of Bethlehem, the fellow citizens of Jesus, the Patriarch said “I address myself to all believers throughout the world, and I urge them to pray for this Holy Land. It is a land that suffers and that hopes. Its inhabitants are brothers who see each other as enemies. When will we realize that a land deserves the adjective “holy” only when the man who lives there becomes holy? This land will deserve to be called “holy” when she breathes freedom, justice, love, reconciliation, peace and security.”
“Besides, how can we experience the joy of Christmas, while we continue to see the drama that accompanied the historic Birth of Christ?,” he added. “Christ had no home in Bethlehem and many of our fellow citizens are homeless because of the unrighteousness of men; hundreds of thousands of people have emigrated to seek a better quality of life because of the difficulty of living in this country and the insecurity; others are attempting to leave the land of their forefathers, the land sanctified by the mystery of the Incarnation of God.”
“How are we to feel the joy and celebration as we commemorate the first anniversary of the war and the tragedy of Gaza? The siege of the city is stifling the freedom of movement and transport is hindered. Many families are separated,” he said.
“On Christmas night, with all men of good will, we pray for peace,” the Patriarch said. “We beg for a peace different from what world promises or gives us. The world’s peace is based on force and violence. We seek God's peace based on justice and human dignity. Our spirits moved by the evils that exist in the world, the conflicts of interest, the duplicity, the silence of right reason, the arms race and the possession of destructive weapons, we ask the Child of Bethlehem, thinking of all homeless children left to themselves in the alleys of refugee camps, for the sun of justice, love and life to rise over our land and put to flight the specter of death and destruction.”
