CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, has issued a Christmas message that both laments the violence and refugee situation in the Middle East and calls on Christians to live out their faith.<\/p>\n\t\u201cThe joy of Christmas is overshadowed by the staggering violence in Syria,\u201d he said Dec. 20.<\/p>\n
\tHe noted the Catholic Church\u2019s work to assist 250,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, saying this shows the Church is \u201cfull of compassion for the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tConflict between rebel forces and the Syrian government has killed tens of thousands of people and driven many more from their homes.<\/p>\n
\tThe refugees are mainly women and children who need food, shelter, medical treatment and clothes.<\/p>\n
\tCaritas Jordan director Wael Suleiman told Fides news agency in November that the Syrian refugees\u2019 numbers in the country could reach half a million by April 2013 if the conflict is not resolved.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition to the refugees from Syria, there are hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees already in Jordan.<\/p>\n
\tPatriarch Twal said that Catholics pray that Jordan will \u201cmaintain its stability and common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn the regional picture, there are many concerns surrounding the Middle East situation that leave Christians \u201cperplexed,\u201d but they desire \u201cmore stability and democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tPatriarch Twal denounced the \u201csevere restrictions\u201d affecting 1.6 million Palestinians, saying they generate \u201chatred and hostility towards Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said United Nations recognition of Palestine as a nonmember observer is \u201ca step towards peace and stability.\u201d Israel, he said, can negotiate \u201con equal state-to-state terms for the good of all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Catholic bishops and patriarchs of the Middle East consider the Israel-Palestine conflict as the cause of all conflicts in the region and stress the urgent need for a \u201cjust and peaceful solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPatriarch Twal urged President Barack Obama to take \u201cimmediate action\u201d for a two-state solution.<\/p>\n
\tHe also spoke of the need for the presence of Christians in public life, pointing to the media as a way for Christian citizens to \u201cassume their historic role,\u201d express values of non-violence and encourage dialogue with believers of other religions.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe are a minority but we are more than just a number,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI encourage all our faithful to live this Year of Faith in earnest,\u201d he added, invoking the first Christians of Jerusalem as a \u201cmodel for renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe patriarch thanked those who had participated in interreligious initiatives and stressed the ability of religious leaders to work for peace if they work together. However, he said the meetings did not prevent \u201can increase in a certain religious radicalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cInterreligious dialogue can only bear fruits in acts of mutual respect,\u201d he said, voicing \u201cdismay\u201d at the ongoing desecrations of churches, convents, synagogues and cemeteries in the Holy Land.<\/p>\n
\tIn February, the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem was vandalized with the words \u201cDeath to Christians.\u201d Early in the morning of Sept. 4, vandals set fire to the door of the Latroun Monastery near Jerusalem and spray painted the walls with blasphemous phrases about Jesus in Hebrew.<\/p>\n
\tAnother vandal attack happened Oct. 2 on the Convent of St. Francis on Mt. Zion, next to the Cenacle complex traditionally regarded as the site of the Last Supper. The graffiti attack derided Jesus and used a phrase common among Israeli extremists for a revenge attack on Palestinians and Arabs.<\/p>\n
\tSuch incidents have drawn wide condemnation from other religions and from the Israeli government. Patriarch Twal called for education of young people in schools to \u201ctake out the evil at its root.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTurning to other interreligious issues, the patriarch said the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council is a chance for \u201can examination of conscience\u201d about Catholics\u2019 dialogue with Judaism and Islam.<\/p>\n
\tChristian ecumenical events in the past year have included the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kiril of Moscow\u2019s visit in early November. Holy Land Catholic leaders reached an agreement to celebrate Easter on a common date in the region. Many Christian delegations attended the enthronement of Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II in Cairo.<\/p>\n
\tChristian emigration is a problem for the Middle East, but Patriarch Twal said such emigration is slowing. He noted Church efforts to provide housing and job training for young people. Most immigrants into the patriarchate are Christians, he said.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition to issuing a Christmas message, Patriarch Twal officiated at the first ever Christmas tree lighting at Jerusalem\u2019s Jaffa Gate on Dec. 18 with other bishops, priests, vowed religious and lay faithful.<\/p>\n
\n
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Jerusalem, Israel, Dec 27, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, has issued a Christmas message that both laments the violence and refugee situation in the Middle East and calls on Christians to live…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\n
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