The Patriarch, the next cardinal at the September 30 consistory, speaks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the upcoming synodal assembly, opening the path of dialogue between the churches of the East and the West. With regard to migrants, the hope is that concerted action will prevent the Mediterranean from becoming a place of death, abuse and discrimination
Antonella Palermo – Vatican City
The historical and conditional socio-political critical problems facing the Holy Land, the view of the General Assembly of the Synod that will soon begin in the Vatican, the challenges related to managing the migratory flows in this Mediterranean area, which also causes so much concern Peoples of the Middle East: These are the topics raised in the brief conversation that the Vatican media held this morning at the Holy See press office His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, who is appointed cardinal in the consistos of September 30 at the Vatican. He affirms that it is a great joy to have been nominated by Pope Francis for the Purple title, “a sign of the attention of the Pope and the Church to Jerusalem, which is the heart of the world but also the periphery.”
Listen to the interview with His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Why does he say that Jerusalem is a suburb?
There is a conflict. A religious conflict that is also a political conflict, there are social inequalities. These are all typical characteristics of an existential periphery.
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Monsignor Gallagher’s recent statements to the United Nations were clear. What impression did they make on you and what appeal do they have for the region?
I comment on them very positively. Even the Holy See has reopened a discussion that has not been heard for some time. We heard nothing about Jerusalem and the status of Jerusalem. Very often it is assumed that the Jerusalem question has been settled. It is not closed and is waiting for a solution that takes into account the different sensitivities, not only political but above all religious, where Christians, Jews and Muslims have the same citizenship.
The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations spoke in New York at the High-Level Week as part of the 78th General Assembly…
Let’s say that this government has opened some wounds, especially within Israeli society, which today is divided into two parts, not so much right and left, but precisely in relation to the idea of the state, in relation to the identity of the State. But it also aggravated the problems regarding relations with other communities, in this case also with the Christian community, which in recent months has experienced a very difficult period with attacks on its symbols and existence.
We are on the eve of the General Assembly of the Synod in the Vatican. What do you expect from the dialogue between the churches in East and West?
A General Synod cannot give precise and specific answers to different realities, which are very different. But it can give clues, read criteria and, without a doubt, help each church, each reality, to equip itself with its own tools. The distinction between East and West leaves much to be desired today. In the West there is a lot of East with emigration, and in the East there is a lot of Asian or African immigration.
What does this create?
It certainly creates new situations that we have to deal with. In this sense, Jerusalem is better prepared; it has always been a multi-religious, multi-cultural society. A small laboratory that can perhaps say a positive word about the acceptance of this situation common to all societies in the world.
A word about the Mediterranean and its future…
What is happening in the Mediterranean is happening all over the world, the phenomenon of emigration is global. The Mediterranean is a litmus test for what is happening in the rest of the world, which is not talked about but which has very similar aspects: discrimination, economic-social inequalities, exploitation, slavery, death, abuse of all kinds. We must ensure that that this situation is not only endured, but also mastered responsibly by everyone. It requires a global response: it cannot be the Mediterranean alone, one country alone, that can solve the problem. It requires the commitment of the entire community, taking into account that behind migration there is a lot of poverty, often caused by discrimination and exploitation.