|
|
Sunday, November 14, 2004Christians in Palestine Concerned About Their Future Analysis of Correspondent in the Holy Land Typically I don't repost whole articles, but the fate of the Palestinian Christian community is one often lost in debates that characterize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of Jews against Muslims. This article highlights the oft-forgotten Palestinian Christian community's dire straits rather well. JERUSALEM, NOV. 12, 2004 (Zenit.org).- While Yasser Arafat's burial was taking place in the Mukata of Ramallah, Christians of the Palestinian territories were wondering about their future. Having become a small minority -- 50,000 in the midst of more than 3 million Muslims --, the death of the president of the Palestinian National Authority has come at a time when the political, administrative, and police structures often discriminate against them," explained Graziano Motta, correspondent in the Holy Land of Vatican Radio and of the Italian newspaper Avvenire. "They have been continually exposed to pressures by Muslim activists and have been forced to profess fidelity to the intifada," the journalist reported. "Frequently, there are cases in which the Muslims expropriate houses and lands belonging to Catholics, and often the intervention of the authorities has been lacking in addressing acts of violence against young women or offenses against the Christian faith," Motta indicated. On several occasions, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who headed the Holy See delegation at Arafat's funeral, personally asked the deceased leader to intervene, and had established with him "a friendly and direct relationship," he continued. "On occasions he intervened in some discussions between Christians and Muslims, especially in the region of Bethlehem, to proffer a solution and redress relations," the patriarch himself said on Thursday on Vatican Radio. However, he did not always succeed as sometimes Arafat could not count on the obedience of the men of his apparatus. "Arafat leaves Christians, and Catholics in particular, an ambiguous and potentially negative heritage in regard to long-term relations with the state entity," he added. "Considering Christians a part of the Arab socio-political reality in the struggle for independence, he tried to involve them as much as possible, exalting Palestine as Holy Land due to the presence of holy sites for Muslims and Christians, but without ever mentioning the Jews," he said. "And he ignored -- and in practice boycotted -- the proposal of a special status for the Jewish, Christians, and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. In the name of Islam, he was firm in his claim for Palestine's exclusive sovereignty over the Holy City (Al-Quds)." "He approved the draft of a Constitutional Charter for the future Palestinian state which did not take into account the secular and plural characteristic (that he said he promoted) to affirm the Muslim character," the correspondent noted. "This is in potential contradiction with the commitments assumed in the Basic Agreement between the Holy See and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 2000, which he promoted to imitate the Fundamental Agreement of 1993 between the Holy See and Israel," he stressed. This agreement "affirms the equality of all citizens, regardless of their religious faith, and respect of their freedom of religion and conscience."
|
|
JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?1) John Brownlee2) Ken Cuccinelli AboutShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.ContactThe Jeffersoniad
ArchivesMarch 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 April 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009
|
|
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Home