The role of religion and religious leaders is important. Some can be tightly linked with the political power, even as employees of the power, and therefore they cannot be free enough to use their religious mission and voice to give a direction different from that of the national interests and fears. Others, and from the three religions, who are not part of the political power, and who serve the people on an inferior level, can on the contrary give a speech different from the official one. It is difficult to oppose the official voice, it is difficult to find the right way to express this opposition: but this is the mission of the religious leaders to be different in their vision as they have to bring hope to situations, like the present in which hopelessness and feeling of being abandoned prevails, and to help both sides towards reconciliation in these moments in which any reconciliation seems to be a very far dream.

I hope, indeed that if not all of us, many of us, religious leaders, will be able to bear our mission and we will be helped by the grace of God to bring hope and reconciliation to both sides in this long and old conflict of the Middle East, with its center in Jerusalem and the Land made holy by God and made the land of Redemption and reconciliation between men themselves, and between them and God.

H.B.Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, 22-Jan-03

Article reprinted courtesy of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation http://www.hcef.org

Photo courtesy of Al-Bushra: http://www.al-bushra.org

Israelis Block Patriarch Sabbah at Tel Aviv Airport
21-Jan-03 Zenit http://www.hcef.org/news/news/index.cfm/dsp/newsview/itemid/896.htm

APPEAL FROM THE CHURCHES OF JERUSALEM, March 2001
http://www.khsnsw.org/updates/200103/urgent_appeal_March_24_01%20.html

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the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation: http://www.hcef.org
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