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Jifna, West Bank, Oct 3, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Jifna is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, just 5 miles north of Ramallah –the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority- and 14 miles north of Jerusalem.
The village of about 2,000 people is unique because, until recently, it had retained a Christian majority for almost 1,500 years, in a region where Christians are a shrinking minority.
In fact, Jifna’s most famous landmark is not one of the elaborate mosques and minarets that dominate the Palestinian landscape, but instead is the ruins of the Roman Church of St George, which was built in the 6th century.
Jifna faces struggles. And those challenges are a fair representation of the many complex issues that threaten the survival of Christian communities in the Holy Land.
In September, during a visit to the region organized by the Philos Project, a group of Catholic leaders was able to visit the St. Joseph Parish in Jifna. They spoke directly to members of the local Catholic community and their pastor, Fr. Joney Bahbah.
At an informal gathering in the parish hall, Fr. Bahbah spoke enthusiastically about the crown jewel of his parish: the Catholic school that “serves everyone, including our Muslim brothers.”
The school was established by the Latin Catholic Patriarchate in 1856.
According to the official statistics of the Latin Patriarchate, Jifna has been losing Christians to migration, and only 870 remain in town, out of which 428 are Latin Christians.
A large group of Christians left the Palestinian territories during the Second Intifada (“Uprising”), a period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence that began in late September 2000 and ended in early 2005.
“Christians are one of the most peaceful, highly-educated, and upwardly-mobile communities in Israel. These loyal citizens serve as a buffer between the Jewish and Muslim populations and offer a powerful testimony to the love and forgiveness that is offered by Jesus Christ,” Robert Nicholson, president of the Philos Project, and an expert on the region, told CNA
But many anti-Christian incidents sparked by Muslims make Christians wary, he said, especially when local disagreements are framed as religious incidents and dangerously escalate.
A traumatic episode happened April 24, when a Christian woman from Jifna got into a traffic altercation with a young Muslim man, the son of an influential Palestinian leader with alleged connections to the powerful Fatah movement in Ramallah. After the altercation, the man was taken into custody by the Palestinian police.
In revenge, some members of the Muslim family rounded up friends from the nearby Al-Am’ari refugee camp, and on April 26 traveled to Jifna, where they destroyed property and hurled anti-Christian insults.
According to a report from Al-Monitor: “Some of the gunmen…also fired into the air and demanded that the Christians pay the Jizyah – a per capital annual tax – called the dhimmi – levied on non-Muslim subjects living under Islamic rule.”
“Jifna residents made emergency calls to the police, but it would be three hours before anyone would arrive. Part of the delay, it turned out, was because Jifna lies in Area B of the West Bank — administered by the Palestinians but with joint Israeli-Palestinian security control — the police needed approval from Israeli authorities before entering it,” Al Monitor explained.
Commenting on the incident and its impact on local Christians, Wadie Abunassar, the Director at The International Center for Consultations, wrote on Facebook that “the residents of Jifna, most of whom are Christians, have voiced anger and resentment for two main reasons: first, the big attack carried out by some residents of Al-Am’ari refugee camp and, second, the delay in the arrival of the Palestinian security forces.”
“We hope that everyone will learn that Christians are an inalienable part of the Palestinian people, that they should not be vulnerable in any way,” Abunassar said.
At the parish hall in St. Joseph, a local lay Christian explained to the Philos Project group that in the Palestinian territories, “we Christians have a strong sense of nationality and Palestinian identity.”
The political stance of many Christians in the West Bank mirrors those of the Muslim majority. They believe in the “right of return” -to the land currently occupied by Israel- and blame Israel for most, if not all, of their current sufferings.
But the lay Christian speaking to the group, who himself spent time in an Israeli prison for joining the Second Intifada, wondered “if the end of the occupation (from Israel) would bring to power a radicalized version of Islam that would totally decimate us.”
According to Nicholson, “Palestinian society cannot survive without Christians. Although they only make up about 1% of the population, Palestinian Christians provide about 50% of the health services and 70% of the educational programs in the West Bank and Gaza. There will be no flourishing State of Palestine without a strong local church. The Palestinian Authority should do a lot more to empower and protect Christians living under its rule.”
When trying to explain other causes of the shrinking population of Christians in the Holy Land, Fr. Bahbah acknowledged the lack of opportunities in the region. He also took a swipe at the allure of western secularization.
“Today’s young (Palestinians) want to have fun, to dance, to travel… They don’t like Jesus,” he said.
The economic reasons for Christians to emigrate have to do with the state of near collapse of the Palestinian economy, in part because of the crippling regulations imposed by Israel.
But Nicholson believes that the survival of Christian communities in the Holy Land requires a significant engagement with Israel.
“Israel offers a unique, if unusual, opportunity for Christian renaissance in the Middle East: unique because Israel is one of the few countries in the region that is stable and free, and unusual because Israel identifies as a Jewish state. Anyone who cares about Middle Eastern Christians should seize on this opportunity, finding ways to work with Israel and strengthen the local church. This will help Christians in Israel, but it will also send a much-needed message of hope to those living in other parts of the region,” he told CNA.
Meanwhile in Jifna, the Christian village surrounded by olive groves, apricot trees and grapevines, Fr. Bahbah says that he keeps on with his daily tasks as a pastor with a sense of hope.
“We believe that peace will come, because Jesus lived here and he loves this land.”
Yangon, Burma, Oct 3, 2019 / 12:01 am (CNA).- Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has decried Burma’s ongoing violence, and encouraged religious leaders to raise their voices in defense of the vulnerable.
“Not a single day passes without the heart wrenching news of innocent civilians being displaced or killed or maimed by the ongoing conflict in Lashio, other Northern regions and Rakhine State,” Cardinal Bo said Oct. 1.
“[I was] pained by the silence of religious leaders,” he added.
Beginning in late 2016 the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group who have mostly occupied Burma’s Rakhine state, faced a sharp increase in state-sponsored violence in their homeland. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and the military has been accused of conducting numerous human violations such as rape and murder.
Despite widespread use of the word Rohingya in the international community, the term is controversial within Burma. The Burmese government refuses to use the term, and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship and numerous other rights since a controversial law was enacted in 1982.
Burma is also known as Myanmar, a name which the U.S. government and many democracy activists oppose, because they say it was illegally imposed on the country by its military dictatorship.
According to UCA News, on the day of the cardinal’s statement, five civilians were injured during an artillery attack in Rakhine. A Buddhist monk, novice, teacher, and two students were harmed.
Bo criticized the government asking, “where is the mercy?” He said the military forces are not concerned with the people’s safety nor have these groups shied away from heavy weapons, like arial bombs. He also said many citizens lack basic necessities.
“I had served as the priest and bishop in this area for almost 20 years. Most of these people are extremely poor and innocent people,” he said. “Striving for basic needs is their daily unending struggle. No group had done any economic development for these people.”
“A ferocious conflict rages in around them, forcing them to flee. With pain and sorrow, I have been witness to their tears, their blood and their brokenness,” he added.
Bo expressed disappointment with the lack of response from the Buddhist and Christian communities. He said that in Burma the Buddist population has 500,000 monks and 70,000 nuns, and the Christian community has over 1000 pastors and 2000 Catholic nuns.
“Some silence can be criminal. The war pursued is unjust and unholy. Our prayers and rituals are nullified by the blood and tears of innocent people,” the cardinal said.
“Myanmar people are peace-loving and follow the guidelines of their religious leaders. There is a huge potential for peace through religious leaders. Kindly raise your voice against this mutilating war,” he said. “Kindly speak out. Peace is possible, Peace is the only way.”
Since 2018, conflicts between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army have displaced 33,000 people in Rakhine and Chin states, UCA News reported.
At a United Nations forum in New York in July, Cardinal Bo emphasized the important role of religious leaders in Burma. He urged world leaders to recognize the positive influence of religion and its members.
“The nation has been wounded by festering wars,” Cardinal Bo said, according to UCA News. “For the nearly six decades of its existence, the country has been at war, brother against brother. So much blood and tears have been shed.”
“[The role of religious leaders] in maintaining peace through imparting values like compassion is an extraordinary contribution to the peace of Myanmar,” he added. “Religious people impart great values in society.”
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Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- A Jesuit priest from Burkina Faso has made history as the first African to win the prestigious Ratzinger Prize, which honors the work and academic contribution of theologians and other Catholic intellectuals.
“I am very surprised to have been awarded this prize, and I am very grateful to the scientific committee for this honor of being at the forefront of Africa for this prize,” Fr. Paul Béré, SJ told Vatican News shortly after the announcement.
“I think this is an encouragement for all theological work done in Africa.”
African Catholic theology is “attentive to what the Christian community is living in our territory,” the priest added.
The president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation, Fr. Federico Lombardi, along with the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi announced the winners of the 2019 Ratzinger Prize earlier this week.
The honorees are chosen by Pope Francis, based upon the recommendations of a committee composed of five cardinals who are members of the Roman Curia.
The Ratzinger Prize was begun in 2011 to recognize scholars whose work demonstrates a meaningful contribution to theology in the spirit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian theologian who became Benedict XVI.
Béré, who is a lecturer at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, explained that he received the award for his work on the figure of the prophet Joshua.
“As an African Biblical scholar, I worked on the figure of Joshua,” he said
The priest explained that the prophet Joshua, who was formed through his relationship with his predecessor Moses, is a source of inspiration for the Church in Africa, especially regarding the transmission of values from one generation to another.
“This is also an inspiration that can help the Church in Africa to work towards the transmission from one generation to another of the mission that we received from the Lord in the ecclesial and political spheres,” he said.
Beré, who is a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) spoke last month on the need for an “Africanness” within the Catholic approach to addressing regional problems.
“Africa can find a solution to all its problems within, what we (Africans) simply need is the slightest desire to share the solutions across the continent,” Beré told ACI Africa at the Nairobi tri-party conference on the status of the evangelization mission in Africa .
Béré will be awarded the Ratzinger Prize on Nov. 9, 2019 at the Vatican Apostolic Palace from Pope Francis. The philosopher Charles Taylor, a Canadian Catholic intellectual, will be awarded the Ratzinger prize on the same day.
A version of this story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s partner news agency in Africa. It has been adapted by CNA.
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