Amid the turmoil in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has told the faithful to not be discouraged or afraid, and to counter division with attempts to build unity.
Speaking at the Palm Sunday procession yesterday on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, he welcomed those from all the parishes who traveled from Palestine and Israel for the day of celebration, prayer, and communion.
“Faithful, religious, priests, bishops, Christians from different churches, we are all united with joy in the name of Jesus, the most beautiful name of all, one that we will never cease to pronounce and celebrate,” he said.
Being united in Christ, he underscored, “gives us renewed strength” and “warms our hearts,” and enables us, “once again, from Jerusalem, to carry this proclamation of love, freedom, and life throughout the world, as people did two thousand years ago.”
Must not be afraid
Despite everything, he said, Jerusalem is still capable of generating this experience.
Not only is it a city of conflict, division, of political and religious tension, of possession and exclusion, he said; but it is also a place of encounter, faith, prayer, joy, communion and unity.
He lamented the many incidents of violence in this city, in recent weeks, including against churches and Christian symbols.
“But we must not be afraid of those who want to divide, those who want to exclude or who want to take over the soul of this Holy City.”
