A child from the Aida Refugee Camp rides his bike next to the Israeli Barrier Wall seperating Israel and the West Bank. (photo: J Carrier)
Monday, Pope Benedict XVI used his annual State of the World address to express his hopes for a new round of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Yesterday, the Holy See’s website offered some analysis from someone who knows the situation intimately:
Father David Neuhaus is no newcomer to the problems of a Holy Land in conflict. From a Jewish Israeli family, Father Neuhaus is now a Catholic priest who cares for the Hebrew speaking Catholic community in the Holy Land. He tells Philippa Hitchen Christians must keep up their hope that political leaders will find a solution to the decades-old conflict and that religious leaders and educators should be more aware of their own role in creating a peaceful world.
“We certainly need to be aware of the very important role we can play in speaking responsibly?we are certainly people who are educating other people. What we need to be aware of is that the words that come out of our mouths create worlds. And those words need to be poised, prudent, wise and of course when it comes to us as Christian leaders, evangelical — full of respect and love for others, hope.”
Father Neuhaus also speaks of the growing polarization of Israeli society over the Jewish identity and democracy of the State.
You can hear the interview with Father Neuhaus here.
We’ve reported extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the pages of our magazine. One article, Living in Limbo, describes life in a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem — a camp that CNEWA’s President Msgr. John Kozar visited just last month. Read his account of that visit here.