"Israeli sovereignty will never compromise religious freedom," added Rivlin. "These are difficult and painful times for Christians in the Middle East."
President Reuven Rivlin visited today, Monday 3 June 2019, the Franciscan Church in the Old City of Jerusalem to mark the Ascension Day holiday and 800 years of presence of the Franciscan Order in the Holy Land,. The president was hosted by Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Patton, and the heads of the other Christian denominations in Israel were also invited to the event.
In his remarks, the president noted the importance of Shavuot for Jewish people, and Ascension Day for Christians, which fall at the same time and the importance he attaches to meeting with the Christian communities in the Holy Land. Scension Day, also known as the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, commerates Jesus's ascension to heaven, according to the Catholic News Agency.
The president noted Israel’s commitment to the holy places of all religions, saying, “the State of Israel, as guardian of this city, is deeply committed to the religious rights of worship and activity of all communities of faith in Jerusalem and Israel. Christians, Muslims and Jews will always be free to worship here. Israeli sovereignty, will never compromise religious freedom.”
The president added, “these are difficult and painful times for Christians in the Middle East. I am proud that Israel is the only country in our region where the Christian community is not shrinking, but in fact is growing.”
The president congratulated the heads of the churches for reaching agreement on the next phase of restoration and preservation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, saying, “it gives me great joy that you have agreed on the next stage to restore and protect the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, making sure that this most holy place for Christianity will be secured for future generations. It is an act of faith, an act of hope, an act of love. We would be happy to help in any way.”
The Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, welcomed the president and thanked him for his visit, saying, “unfortunately, even recently, we have seen violence exploding in an inhuman and brutal way against faithful who were praying. This violence has struck the Jewish community in the United States, the Muslim community in New Zealand, as well as the Christian community in Sri Lanka. As religious leaders, we refuse condemn and deplore all kinds of exploitation of religion, and especially the religious justification of acts of violence. When Pope John Paul II came to Jerusalem in March 2000, he reminded us that the role of religious leaders is, above all, that of ‘promoting peace and reciprocal understanding.’ We are, however, afraid that in this season in which the great religious leaders are condemning the exploitation of religion and acts of violence committed in the name of religion, some forms of religion are being undertaken by certain political leaders who are not far sighted; they are able to support all that permits them to obtain an immediate political consensus but they are short-sighted in their ability to build a strategy of peace for the common good of all citizens, in such a way that they become truly equal in being subjects of rights and duties, independently of their religious faith.”
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Attached photo credit: Mark Neiman (GPO)
