Jerusalem patriarch asks God to reconcile Israelis, Palestinians

Published: 2005-05-18

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Latin Patriarchate Michel Sabbah prayed for God to "reconcile the hearts" of Palestinians and Israelis in his homily on Pentecost, May 15. He noted the date marked both Israeli independence day and the day Palestinians call "Il-Nakba" -- "catastrophe" in Arabic -- which Palestinians commemorate as the day of the loss of their land. Palestinian Christians are an integral part of those two events, he said. "The fate of all human beings concerns us, whether it be their successes or their failures, their aspirations or their sufferings," said Patriarch Sabbah in the homily, released to the press May 16. "Consequently, on this Pentecost Sunday, both events are part of our prayer. "We ask God to fill us with his Spirit and to recreate and reconcile the hearts of Palestinians and Israelis, and particularly the hearts of their leaders, so that they might become instruments of peace and justice for all," he said.

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