CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- European bishops are gathering in the Holy Land Sept. 11-16 to show closeness to Christians in the Middle East and to trace a path of hope for them, in an unprecented assembly.
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\n\t\u201cWe are here to rediscover the source of our identity as people of God and of our mission as successors of the Apostles,\u201d Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest said Sept. 11.<\/p>\n\tCardinal Erdo is president of the Council of the European Bishops Conferences, which gathers together 39 bishops\u2019 conferences from across Europe. The umbrella organization was founded in 1971 with the aim of realizing closer communication and cooperation between the European bishops and episcopal conferences, to promote evangelization in the European region.
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\n\tThe council customarily holds its plenary assembly in one of its member states each year. This year, its leaders decided to hold the assembly to the Holy Land at the invitation of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal.
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\n\tPatriarch Twal told CNA Sept. 14 he is grateful that the president of the bishops\u2019 conferences in Europe came to visit in \u201ca moment when the attention on us is overshadowed.\u201d
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\n\tThe Patriarch said that \u201cChristians come to visit us and to pray with us and for us.\u201d He noted the Arab world\u2019s problems in Syria, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\tHe said \u201call the world\u2019s attention is now focused toward the east,\u201d especially regarding the threat of the Islamic State group dominant in parts of Iraq and Syria. The patriarch said \u201cno one is talking anymore of the situation in the Holy Land.\u201d
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\n\tThe patriarch said the presence of European bishops in the Holy Land aims to shed light on this peculiar situation, and eventually \u201cto trace the path of hope for the Church in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAmong the problems at stake in the Holy Land is the construction of the wall in the Cremisan Valley on the border between Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli government has confiscated lands from 58 Christian families in order to build a security wall. The move has drawn protests of Christian communities there.
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\n\tEchoes of this could be glimpsed in the lecture of Father Jamal Khader, rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Beit Jala. He addressed the European Bishops Sept. 11 at Korazim, the place traditionally considered the location of Jesus Christ\u2019s Sermon of the Mount.
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\n\t\u201cPromises of the Old Testament do not justify grabbing the land of one people and pass it to another people in the name of God\u2026 the recent history of Europe does not justify the silence over the injustices committed against Palestinian people,\u201d he said.
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\n\tFr. Khader underscored that \u201cJesus did not respect the sensitivity of the powerful, he was not a diplomat, he did not look for a balance between oppressed and oppressors. He helped the poor people, and called the powerful to conversion and compassion.\u201d
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\n\tThe first part of the gathering was held in Domus Galileae, a guesthouse in Korazim that St. John Paul II inaugurated in 2000. From Korazim, the bishops moved to Nazareth Sept. 12 and to the Melkite village Mil\u2019iya in Northern Galilee the next day.
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\n\tThe plenary assembly had a two-part goal: to return to the very roots of Christianity in order to find a new evangelizing way for Europe; and to show that European bishops are close to the worries and preoccupations of the bishops of the Middle East, and particularly of the Holy Land.
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\n\tAmong the causes of concern for Christians in the Holy Land is the situation of the Christian schools, whose existence is in peril.
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\n\tOver the past six years, the Education Ministry has reduced funding to Israel\u2019s 47 Christian schools, which are attended by some 33,000 Arab-Israeli children. The schools have shuttered since the academic year began on Sept. 1 as a protest against the cuts.
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\n\t\u201cChristians are not asking for privileges, we are asking for what law has guaranteed us,\u201d Bishop Giacinto Marcuzzo, auxiliary of Nazareth and general vicar for Israel, told CNA Sept. 12.
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\n\tHe said Israel has had a \u201cwell-balanced education system\u201d since its founding in 1948.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAccording to law, the state had to give every family the possibility of educating their children according to their beliefs, life styles, and way of living,\u201d the bishop explained.
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\n\tThe church schools fall into the category of \u201crecognized but unofficial.\u201d This means they are not part of the state school system, but are accredited by the government. They normally receive 75 percent of the funding given to regular state schools. The remainder comes from tuition payments that average 4,000 shekels ($1,000) a year. Both Christians and Muslims attend these schools.
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\n\tWith the funding cuts, families would have to pay a higher tuition, but often this is not possible.<\/p>\n
\tAwsi Bathish, a school principal and negotiator for the Church with the government, told CNA \u201cfamilies cannot afford it, as it would mean to pay two thirds of their monthly average income for each child.\u201d
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\n\tBishop Marcuzzo added that for Israel\u2019s Christians, school is \u201cvery important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe are just 2 percent of the population. If we do not have a school system, we are going to lose our young people, as young people wants to emigrate. To keep them in our land, we try to provide them a qualified education so that they are able to find a job, marry, raise up a family and so stay here.\u201d
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\n\tBishop Marcuzzo said the schools are high quality. Six of the 10 top-ranked schools in Israel are Christian, while 60 percent of university students attend Christian schools.<\/p>\n
\tThe issue was a topic of the Sept. 3 meeting between Pope Francis and Israel\u2019s president Reuven Rivlin.
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\n\tThe European bishops when they arrived in Nazareth discovered a spontaneous sit-in at the Basilica of the Annunciation courtyard on the issue of Christian schools, which became a main topic of discussion. In Mil\u2019ya, bishops took part in the annual procession for the Exaltation of the Cross, which ended in a Christian school courtyard.
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\n\tCardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, made a speech at the end of the procession. He told those gathered that \u201cEuropean bishops have come here to stay close to you, and now we know more about you. We have learned of your problems, also about your problems in the field of education. We support you.\u201d
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\n\tAnother major topic of discussion was the migration of peoples from the eastern and southern Mediterranean into the European Union has also been a hot topic of discussion. In his initial remarks to the assembly, Cardinal Ouellet described the movement of peoples as \u201ca very difficult and delicate moment.\u201d
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\n\tHe said this is the reason holding the assembly in the Holy Land is \u201cnot a choice like any other.\u201d He noted: \u201cthis is the place where every Christian is born.\u201d
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\n\tPatriarch Twal also discussed the scenario of the immigration in Israel. \u201cHere, we live the dramatic situation of many Asians who come here to search for a job, with no legislation to defend them; but we also live the dramatic situation of Christians who leave the country in search of dignified life conditions.\u201d
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\n\tThe European bishops were scheduled to move their assembly to Jerusalem Sept. 14. On their agenda is a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and with Israeli president Reuven Revlin. They were to visit Christian works of charity in Bethlehem on Sept. 15 and their assembly will close the next day.<\/p>\n
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Jerusalem, Israel, Sep 15, 2015 \/ 06:08 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- European bishops are gathering in the Holy Land Sept. 11-16 to show closeness to Christians in the Middle East and to trace a path of hope for them, in an unprecented assembly.
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