`Peace Is the Fruit of Justice' Christian Witness in The Holy Land

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Date
2005
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
Like so many other places in the world, the Holy Land as well is a region of conflict and tension, with a new and ever escalating outbreak of violence and hatred since September 2000. Few places inspire such strongly held and opposing points of view as this country. Before coming to Nairobi, I spent two years of apostolic experience with our community at St. Anne's Church in Jerusalem's Old City. During this time, I also studied Arabic at the Palestinian University of Birzeit and lived in the Greek- Catholic (Melkite) parish in Ramallah, both of which are located in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank. I worked in a home for handicapped children in En Kerem, in the outskirts of Jerusalem in Israel proper, and was involved in several projects run by Catholic Relief Services in different refugee camps in the Gaza strip. All these activities brought me in close contact with the life situation of the two peoples in this country, i.e. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. Witnessing the desperation and suffering of so many families on both sides - Jews, Muslims and the small number of Christians of different denominations - I was challenged to study the roots of this century-old conflict and to find my own answers to one question: how to witness to the Kingdom of God in an atmosphere so much dominated by hatred, violence and despair. While approaching Jerusalem, Jesus wept over the city (Lk 19:41); 2000 years later, the homeland of our Lord is still in desperate need for the peace He promised to all, His own peace which the world cannot give (Jn 14:27). In this work, we shall investigate the mission of Christians and of Christianity in the plight for peace in the Holy Land. After a brief glimpse into some aspects in the history of the area, we shall then describe the life situation at present. The second chapter presents positions of major world religions on the question of nonviolence, with an special emphasis on the values of Christianity and the teaching of the Church's magisterium. Looking at the struggle of the local Church in the Holy Land and the daily witness of Palestinian Christians in the following chapter, we shall eventually be able to outline some of the basic requirements leading to a just and lasting solution to the conflict. A bibliography shall conclude this work.
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Keywords
Peace, Fruit of Justice', Christian Witness, The Holy Land
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