Pope and Assyrian Patriarch: Blood of Middle East martyrs is ‘seed Christian unity’

Jerusalem, Sep 27, 2019 / 08:30 am (CNA).- There are no tourists in Jerusalem’s Talbieh neighborhood. And even locals don’t always notice the Capuchin Franciscans coming and going from a non-descript three-house compound in the neighborhood. It does not stand out. But for many of those who know it, the St. Rachel Center is an indispensable refuge and a source of grace.

The St. Rachel Center serves a kind of immigrant unique to Israel: those born in the country, but living there illegally.

The strong economy in Israel is a magnet for many immigrants, mostly women, from places like the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Eritrea, who find jobs as housekeepers, caretakers of the elderly, or as maids in hotels. But the state of Israel admits those immigrants only under very strict rules: they cannot bring family members, and they have to commit to not get married or have children in Israel.  Violating any of those terms would immediately void their visas and would make them eligible for deportation.

But life happens. And immigrant women who get pregnant sometimes opt to remain illegally in the country, knowing that their children, ineligible for Israeli citizenship, will live in a legal limbo.

The need of daycare for the growing number of such children has created a cottage industry of “children’s warehouses,” especially in major cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. In such warehouses, kids are left mostly unsupervised, usually in deplorable conditions.

To respond to this need, the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Jerusalem started the St. Rachel Center in September 2016. The center aims to provide safe, healthy and nurturing day care for the children of immigrants.

This September, a group of Catholic leaders visiting the Holy Land through an initiative of the Christian advocacy group known as the Philos Project were received at St. Rachel House by its director, Italian priest Fr. Benedetto di Bitonto.  Constantly interrupted by the joyous children who flock to him, Fr. Benedetto showed off the spacious one-floor building, with two playgrounds and two large rooms, one of them serving as a nursery for babies.

Another large room serves as a meeting place for the children who come to the center after school. Other rooms serve as offices, study and meeting rooms, and there is also a small apartment for volunteers, most of them young European Catholics.

Each school day, parents begin to drop off around 30 children at 7:30 in the morning, usually picking them up at 5:30 pm. Then, an additional 40 children arrive at 1:30 pm for an after school program that lasts until 6:00 pm. This program is especially important for the kids, since most of their parents are not sufficiently familiar with Hebrew and thus are not able to assist their children with homework.

“We try to provide as much after-school activities as possible to these kids, most of whom are integrated in Israeli school system,” Fr. di Bitonto told CNA.

With his long beard, bright eyes and easy manner, Fr. di Bitonto seems like a man of long experience at the center. Very few would imagine that was ordained a priest in May, just four months ago.

But there is an interesting story behind “Fr Benny,” and there is a reason he seems like such a seasoned leader.

Benedetto grew up in a devout Southern Italian Catholic family, and first heard a call when he was 18. He decided to study comparative literature, including Hebrew, until age 24, when he joined the seminary in his Diocese of Pozzuoli. But he stayed only for a year. He went back to college to pursue his Ph.D., which led him to study Hebrew literature in Jerusalem, where he fell in love with the small local Catholic community.

After leading a group of pilgrims to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, he returned to the seminary to become a priest at the service of the Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Jerusalem.

By the time of his priestly ordination, “Benny” had accumulated significant cultural, pastoral and spiritual experience.    

During the visit of the Philos Project, Fr. Benedetto led the group to the small chapel where an icon of Rachel the Matriarch dominates one of the walls.

“Why did we choose St. Rachel for this house? Because she struggled to have children and died giving birth to her younger son,” Fr. Benny explained.

“She is therefore the model of the mother willing to do anything for their children, and that’s what we aspire to do here, with God’s grace.”

Catechism is taught to Catholic kids every afternoon, but, regardless of religion “every child in need of a refuge for the day is welcomed without hesitation,” Fr. di Bitonto explained.

“This is our small contribution to unity, peace and friendship in the Holy Land.”

This hope for peaceful and friendly inter-religious unity in the Holy Land seems to be at the core of Fr. Benedetto’s priestly ministry.

In fact, according to Cécile Klos, a journalist from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “the participants in the ordination celebration were happy for Benedetto, but also happy to have shared such a strong moment with people who are often very different in origin, language, administrative situation in the country and even religion.”

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Juba, South Sudan, May 4, 2019 / 05:00 am (CNA).- They were founded three decades ago in southern Sudan, and named the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But in a region dramatically affected by the South Sudanese civil war, they are usually known by … […]

Washington D.C., Jan 3, 2020 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- Christian communities in the Middle East are likely to suffer renewed persecution in any instability following recent U.S. airstrikes, experts have warned. 

On Thursday evening Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike in Baghdad International Airport, ordered by President Donald Trump. Also killed in the strike was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and Iraqi militia which has fought against ISIS. 

The airstrike followed an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, and U.S. officials claim that Soleimani had planned additional attacks against Americans. 

Christian groups say that in the face of escalating conflict and instability in the country and region, focus must be maintained on the marginalized religious populations in the country. 

“General Soleimani and his Quds Force wreaked havoc on Christians and others in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria for decades. We pray his passing will mark the end of an era of terrorism and instability,” said Peter Burns, director of government relations and policy at In Defense of Christians.

But, Burns added, there are concerns that the region will become unstable, which could have “increased probability of counterattacks on religious minorities.”

“IDC is closely monitoring the situation to ensure that such attacks do not happen,” he said.

His organization is calling for the governments of Iraq and Syria to work to “ensure the safety of protesters who have already been targeted by Iran-aligned thugs,” and, Burns noted, Christians in these countries have protested alongside Muslims while seeking political and economic reforms. 

“Their right to gather and call for change should not be threatened by Iranian retaliation violence,” said Burns.

While it is unclear what the fallout of the Jan. 2 strike will be, many are wanring that Christian populations may be put at an increased risk of terrorism and other attacks. 

“Whatever happens next in Iraq, it is important that we not lose sight of the plight of the Christians in that country who have historically been disproportionately affected–and often directly targeted–in situations and upheaval and violence,” said Andrew Walther, Vice President of Communications and Strategic Planning of the Knights of Columbus in a statement to CNA. 

“The safety and survival of these communities, which were just recently decimated by ISIS’ campaign of genocide, must remain a priority,” said Walther. 

The Knights of Columbus has spent more than $25 million over the last five years to assist the plight of Christians in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. 

Fr. Luis Montes, an Argentinian priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and a missionary in Iraq, told ACI Prensa that the attack is “quite serious,” but explained that there has not yet been anything “directly against Christians in this regard.”

Montes told ACI Prensa, CNA’s sister agency, that he was more concerned with the threat of instability in Iraq, which will “make life harder for Christians.” 

“The war affects us Christians more than others because there are fewer of us, we’re more unprotected” from the “the insecurity and violence,” he said. Most Christians have left the region, which further erodes efforts to help stabilize the country. 

“All this instability and violence is the perfect opportunity for violent people, for the terrorists, for interests outside the country interested in the country’s resources, and this is adverse to the population,” said Montes. 

Edward Clancy of Aid to the Church in Need also expressed concern about how the new instability would harm the Christian population. Clancy, who works as the group’s outreach director, told CNA that his initial reaction to hearing about the airstrike was “‘Oh no,’ but also hopeful at the same time.” 

“Terrorist activity will disproportionately affect the Christians. Not necessarily in the numbers killed, but in the numbers that remain. People will leave, because of lack of safety,” he said. 

“So right now, it is of utmost importance, whoever can provide it, give to the Christian community [a sense of] security,” said Clancy. 

Clancy especially highlighted the the Nineveh region, traditionally home to some of the world’s oldest Christian communities, where there is a lack of infrastructure and communication networks, and Christians are left “high and dry” in a “very difficult situation.” 

The community there is “very vulnerable right now,” Clancy said.

“We just have to be really, really vigilant about praying for these people, and we also have to put pressure on people in charge to make sure [the Christian community] is not forgotten.”

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