By Anthony Barich
THE continued presence of Christians in the Holy Land is critical as they keep the peace between Jews and Muslims, according to Latin-rite Auxiliary Bishop William H Shomali of Jerusalem.
Stressing a key message from the 10-24 October Synod of Bishops in Rome that discussed Catholics in the Middle East, Bishop Shomali said, “our presence here is very, very important – to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world”.
“Israel and Palestine without the Christians is not the same. They lose their pluralism; they lose the moderate force,” he told a group of 40 pilgrims from St Mary MacKillop parish in Ballajura on 29 October.
He was speaking to the pilgrims at his residence in Jerusalem, which has been visited by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
“If they lose us there will be confrontation between Jews and Muslims, (as) they lose the moderating part of the Palestinians that are Christian.”
Though Christians make up just two percent of the population in Palestine, Israel and Jordan, Bishop Shomali said that “everyone recognises our importance despite our few numbers”.
There are 400,000 Christians in Palestine, Israel and Jordan. Half of these are Catholics; 100,000 of these are Latin-rite, plus there are another 100,000 Latin-rite Catholic foreign workers who are mainly from the Philippines and India.
“In Egypt, even in Iraq, the governments say Christians are important. Theoretically, they recognise that, but we need this recognition on the street level between the people themselves.”
Bishop William H Shomali served in parishes in Jordan for eight years and 19 years as rector of the Seminary of Jerusalem.
“We spoke well of Jews and Muslims, but we were courageous to speak about occupation of the land. So we practise truth with charity, which is the summit of moderation,” he said.
“You can say the truth with violence, you can say charity without saying the truth, but when you use truth and charity together, it’s perfection, and we try to live that.”
Bishop Shomali also stressed a key message from the Synod urging Christians not to leave the region.
Christians should remain as “it is our vocation to be here if we are born here, just like your vocation is to be the salt and the light of your own parish where you live,” he told the pilgrim group.
While the reasons Christians are leaving centre on security, “I believe the real reason is that Christians generally don’t believe that their presence here is a vocation”, he said.
“If you want to leave, you can leave; but if everyone leaves it means we leave the land where Jesus was born as a museum, which is not nice,” he said.
“The Lord wants the Christian community to be where the Church was born. No one can deny this importance. Around the holy places at least we need to be present.”
Security is a major issue for Christians, especially in Iraq, Palestine, Turkey and Lebanon, he said.
While eight years of conflict between majority and minority groups has become “normal” and “we have to cope with that”, he said it was for the vocational role of Christians that the Synod started by urging a renewal of the Christian presence in the region.
“It’s is a matter of faith – to believe that God wants me here,” he said.
Peace in the region is beyond politics, and can only be achieved with God and through prayer, he said.
“The finish to the conflict depends on the Lord and our prayers, not on politicians, who (make the process) longer, because politics is neither the truth nor charity. Everyone’s in it for their own interests,” he said.
“If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the workers work in vain. So we have to pray more. I am sure the solution is coming”, he added, while saying the time frame is unknown.
“The Lord’s calendar is neither Julian nor Gregorian, as 1,000 years for the Lord is like one day. If this is the case, the Lord can say to us, ‘continue to pray for more than five minutes’,” he said.
“Believe me, if peace comes within 10 years it’s not too late. After eight years of wars and conflict, 10 years is a short time for the Lord; and 10 years is nothing for the history of the world.”