Naples, 26 Aug. (LaPresse) – “We are living through a very difficult time for countless families, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, where fear reigns supreme. The facts seem to dash any hopes of change, but we must not give up either, because that would mean leaving the field to these extremists. We must do everything possible at local, national and international levels – from my perspective, which is more religious than political – to keep the issue in the spotlight and to try to stem this downward spiral.” So said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and former Custos of the Holy Land, in an interview with ilsussidiario.net on the day of his address at the Rimini Meeting. “In civil society,” he explains, “there are glimmers of experiences that point in a different direction to what we are currently experiencing in such a clear and deeply distressing way. These are glimmers that open up a reality that is still within our grasp. We are, unfortunately, in a time of waiting. Waiting for decisions that must be taken, whether political or otherwise. It is a very difficult time, because it is a very long wait, and the challenge we face is to fill this wait not with disappointment, frustration or anger, but together with what I call ‘fragments of humanity’, we must keep this wait alive in the hope that this promise will be fulfilled as soon as possible.”
Middle East, Pizzaballa: ‘These are difficult times, but we must stem the tide of extremism’
Naples, 26 Aug. (LaPresse) – “We are living through a very difficult time for countless families, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, where fear reigns supreme. The facts seem to dash any hopes of change, but we must not give up either, because that would mean leaving the field to these extremists. We must do everything possible at local, national and international levels – from my perspective, which is more religious than political – to keep the issue in the spotlight and to try to stem this downward spiral.” So said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and former Custos of the Holy Land, in an interview with ilsussidiario.net on the day of his address at the Rimini Meeting. “In civil society,” he explains, “there are glimmers of experiences that point in a different direction to what we are currently experiencing in such a clear and deeply distressing way. These are glimmers that open up a reality that is still within our grasp. We are, unfortunately, in a time of waiting. Waiting for decisions that must be taken, whether political or otherwise. It is a very difficult time, because it is a very long wait, and the challenge we face is to fill this wait not with disappointment, frustration or anger, but together with what I call ‘fragments of humanity’, we must keep this wait alive in the hope that this promise will be fulfilled as soon as possible.”