“Osservatore Romano” published the testimony of the parish priest of a village in eastern Ramallah, Palestine. He said: We strive to guard the peace of our community, otherwise “there will be no peace in the land of Jesus.”
(Vatican News Network) The small Palestinian town of Tayib, located about 30 kilometers north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah, has about 1,500 residents and three churches. This small Palestinian town is widely known as the last village to be inhabited entirely by Christians. Among the residents, 620 are Latin Rite Catholics, and the rest are Greek Orthodox and Greek Melkita Rite Catholics. Father Bashar Fawadleh, who has served as the priest of the Taipei Latin Rite Church since 2021, said this recently.
Fr Afodele said living conditions in Palestine had deteriorated further since the conflict broke out about three weeks ago. “We don’t dare to go out after 5 p.m. The Israeli settlement residents will attack people. They are stronger than us because they have weapons, so we will step back because we fear for our lives.”
In addition to mentioning the relationship between residents of Taibei villages and towns and Israeli settlers, Father Afodele also believes that the difficulties faced by Palestinian residents are not a new thing. “We are used to using different methods to deal with it: such as staying, non-violence, and signing agreements. We call on the international community to allow us to enjoy the right to live, move, travel, read, and play on this land. These rights do not exist, especially in Gaza.”
The priest continued: “We Palestinian Christians have lived in this land for two thousand years. Where will we go? We are the light of the world. We can only be the light of the world if we tell the truth.” Every Christian is called to spread the teachings of Christ. “As a community, as a Church, we must pray in our daily lives,” said Fr Afodele. “We must raise hope in people’s hearts. In such a difficult situation, the most important thing is Christian hope, which It brings us joy, smiles, a positive vision for the future, strength and enthusiasm to continue our daily lives in Palestine”. “We must learn to love one another,” concluded the priest, “because if we do not love one another we cannot live in harmony. If there is no peace in our communities, there will be no peace in the land of Jesus.”
Link URL:www.vaticannews.cn
#Palestinian #priest #Faith #helps #hope #fear #Vatican #News
2023-10-28 12:12:32
