The community of Arab Christians is dwindling in the Holy Land

Jerusalem. Bethlehem. Nazareth. The Galilee. These are the places where Christianity began. They're where the story of Jesus took place.

Once as much as 8 percent of the population of what is now Israel and the Palestinian-administered territories, Arab Christians now make up 2 percent or less of the population, and the number is growing steadily smaller.

What's happened is a familiar tale. Tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians -- along with many more thousands of Muslims -- left their homes in 1948 when Israel became a state.

Thousands more left after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, which put the West Bank and Gaza under Israeli control.

The two Palestinian uprisings of the last 10 years and the violence and economic disruption that followed have led to even more emigration.

The result is that towns like Bethlehem, long a Christian stronghold with a strong tourist business, are now battle-scarred and economically bereft.

What's unsettling -- though clearly not surprising given the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict -- is that there's so little agreement on just what is driving the exodus. Every side -- and that includes religious groups of all kinds as well as Israelis and Palestinians -- colors its accounts with how it would like things to be, not with how they really are.

Because there's been no census, an accurate count of Palestinian Christians is nonexistent.

Maher Turjman, Regional Director for the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, in his Jerusalem office.

Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:

"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).

Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.

To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15).

To locate an Eastern Catholic Church in your community, follow the following link:

Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.

A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his of her obligations at any Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaldeans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.

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