Pope Francis takes a tiny baby step forward but fails to live up to his Office Before the recent visit by Pope Francis to the Holy Land, his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI visited there in 2009. He went to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as the Holocaust museum Yad Vashem. Conspicuous by its absence was a visit to Gaza, which was excluded from the itinerary for “security reasons”. Apart from the Palestinians, very disappointed, and confused, were the 3,000 or so Christians living in Gaza then. Father Manuel Mussalam, pastor of the only remaining Catholic Church in Gaza, said, “Why the pope has come and what he wants to say are among the unanswered questions,” Referring to the Pope’s visit to Jerusalem, Father Mussalam said, he did not believe the timing was right because it was still occupied territory. He also expressed regret over the fact that the Pope spent three days in Jordan and three days in Israel, setting aside only one day for the Palestinians and excluding Gaza completely. Despite his disappointment, Mussalam graciously expressed his deep love for Pope Benedict. So disheartened were the Palestinian Christians at Gaza at being excluded from a visit by the Pope that 40 of the most prominent Christians from the occupied Palestinian territories had appealed to the Holy See to add Gaza to the pope’s itinerary. They could not understand how the Pope, who had been to Auschwitz to pray for the people murdered there “as a duty to truth and to those that suffered,” could not visit those suffering similar terrors in Gaza. Especially when the Pope was coming right after the war crimes in Gaza. “We hoped that he could give Palestine more time, to see the destruction, colonialism, apartheid walls that block the roads to our churches, and the siege of our people.” Father Mussalam said. Here in the US, Dom Martin, a renowned artist and writer, author of Nablinka (among other books), who has the gift of prophetic vision, was outraged and presented a passionate piece (see below). In it he argued that if the Pope visted Gaza, it would be a compelling gesture that would “spare his successor the ignominy of inheriting the contempt he is presently burdened with”. Unfortunately, none of this had any effect and in 2009 and the Pope did not visit Gaza“for secutiry reasons” This time also Pope Francis did not visit Gaza but he did ignore “security reasons” and made a sudden unscheduled stop at Israel’s apartheid wall. Though small, this is progress and is welcome. One wishes however that he did not refer to the illegal and brutal occupation of Palestinian lands, and the resistance by the Palestinians to this occupation, as a “conflict”. The least he could have done is to call it what it is, an illegal, brutal occupation. Here is Dom Martins piece written in 2009: dommartin.us/Petrification%20of%20Christ.htm
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 22:32:14 +0000
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