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Pope Benedict XVI - Visit to the Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem (in Palestine)
EWTN ^ | May 13, 2009

Posted on 05/13/2009 2:15:36 PM PDT by NYer

On Wednesday 13 May 2009, after making a private visit to the Grotto of the Nativity, the Holy Father visited the Caritas Children's Hospital and the Aida Refugee Camp. At the Camp he gave the following address.

Mr President,
Dear Friends,

My visit to the Aida Refugee Camp this afternoon gives me a welcome opportunity to express my solidarity with all the homeless Palestinians who long to be able to return to their birthplace, or to live permanently in a homeland of their own. Thank you, Mr President, for your kind greeting. And thank you also, Mrs Abu Zayd, and our other speakers. To all the officials of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency who care for the refugees, I express the appreciation felt by countless men and women all over the world for the work that is done here and in other camps throughout the region.

I extend a particular greeting to the pupils and teachers in the school. By your commitment to education you are expressing hope in the future. To all the young people here, I say: renew your efforts to prepare for the time when you will be responsible for the affairs of the Palestinian people in years to come. Parents have a most important role here, and to all the families present in this camp I say: be sure to support your children in their studies and to nurture their gifts, so that there will be no shortage of well-qualified personnel to occupy leadership positions in the Palestinian community in the future. I know that many of your families are divided – through imprisonment of family members, or restrictions on freedom of movement – and many of you have experienced bereavement in the course of the hostilities. My heart goes out to all who suffer in this way. Please be assured that all Palestinian refugees across the world, especially those who lost homes and loved ones during the recent conflict in Gaza, are constantly remembered in my prayers.

I wish to acknowledge the good work carried out by many Church agencies in caring for refugees here and in other parts of the Palestinian Territories. The Pontifical Mission for Palestine, founded some sixty years ago to coordinate Catholic humanitarian assistance for refugees, continues its much-needed work alongside other such organizations. In this camp, the presence of Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary calls to mind the charismatic figure of Saint Francis, that great apostle of peace and reconciliation. Indeed, I want to express my particular appreciation for the enormous contribution made by different members of the Franciscan family in caring for the people of these lands, making themselves "instruments of peace", in the time-honored phrase attributed to the Saint of Assisi.

Instruments of peace. How much the people of this camp, these Territories, and this entire region long for peace! In these days, that longing takes on a particular poignancy as you recall the events of May 1948 and the years of conflict, as yet unresolved, that followed from those events. You are now living in precarious and difficult conditions, with limited opportunities for employment. It is understandable that you often feel frustrated. Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian State, remain unfulfilled. Instead you find yourselves trapped, as so many in this region and throughout the world are trapped, in a spiral of violence, of attack and counter-attack, retaliation, and continual destruction. The whole world is longing for this spiral to be broken, for peace to put an end to the constant fighting.

Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached – the wall. In a world where more and more borders are being opened up – to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges – it is tragic to see walls still being erected. How we long to see the fruits of the much more difficult task of building peace! How earnestly we pray for an end to the hostilities that have caused this wall to be built!

On both sides of the wall, great courage is needed if fear and mistrust is to be overcome, if the urge to retaliate for loss or injury is to be resisted. It takes magnanimity to seek reconciliation after years of fighting. Yet history has shown that peace can only come when the parties to a conflict are willing to move beyond their grievances and work together towards common goals, each taking seriously the concerns and fears of the other, striving to build an atmosphere of trust. There has to be a willingness to take bold and imaginative initiatives towards reconciliation: if each insists on prior concessions from the other, the result can only be stalemate.

Humanitarian aid, of the kind provided in this camp, has an essential role to play, but the long-term solution to a conflict such as this can only be political. No one expects the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to arrive at it on their own. The support of the international community is vital, and hence I make a renewed appeal to all concerned to bring their influence to bear in favor of a just and lasting solution, respecting the legitimate demands of all parties and recognizing their right to live in peace and dignity, in accordance with international law. Yet at the same time, diplomatic efforts can only succeed if Palestinians and Israelis themselves are willing to break free from the cycle of aggression. I am reminded of those other beautiful words attributed to Saint Francis: "where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon … where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy."

To all of you I renew my plea for a profound commitment to cultivate peace and non-violence, following the example of Saint Francis and other great peacemakers. Peace has to begin in the home, in the family, in the heart. I continue to pray that all parties to the conflict in these lands will have the courage and imagination to pursue the challenging but indispensable path of reconciliation. May peace flourish once more in these lands! May God bless his people with peace!


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: catholic; israel; jew; moslem; palestine; popebenedict; popeworshippers

1 posted on 05/13/2009 2:15:37 PM PDT by NYer
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To: Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; nickcarraway; Romulus; ...
For many of us in the west, today's visit to the Palestinian refugee camp is challenging to comprehend. Keep in mind that the Holy Lands are home to many peoples who trace their family heritage back thousands of years. One of the christian palestinians who made a presentation to the pope, related how his family had lived in Nazareth for more than 2000 years. These people have lost their homes - residences that date back hundreds of years - and their children, born in this refugee camp, speak of holding the "keys" to their family homes, waiting for the day when they will return. Sadly, some of their villages no longer exist. They have been bulldozed over and their homes forever lost.

We americans are accustomed to moving around from one state to another, one residence to another. In the Middle East, what marks a family is its name and town of origin. Essentially, these refugees have lost their ancestral homesteads are now walled up in camps, numbering 52, until a resolution can be achieved. They view themselves as living in the diaspora.

2 posted on 05/13/2009 2:23:26 PM PDT by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: NYer

What a crock. Few of those people could trace back more than a century and those that could, would find they should be in Jordan, Egypt, or some other Islamic stink hole.


3 posted on 05/13/2009 2:28:57 PM PDT by DonaldC
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To: NYer

Challenging to comprehend? Try unforgivable. Theological objections to necessary self-defense are morally unsupportable to me, even when articulated by the Pope.


4 posted on 05/13/2009 2:39:00 PM PDT by Piranha
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To: NYer
What is challenging in that?

The long-term solution to a conflict such as this can only be political

Excellent address that points to the root of the problems in the Holy Land: absence of political will to coexist.

5 posted on 05/13/2009 2:46:05 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: Piranha
Theological objections to necessary self-defense

Building walls does not resolve conflicts. We learned that lesson in Berlin. If someone took away your ancestral home, though you had done nothing wrong, and sent you and your family to live in a "temporary" camp (for 60+ years), how would you feel?

6 posted on 05/13/2009 3:04:32 PM PDT by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: DonaldC
Few of those people could trace back more than a century ...

Do you have a source for this accusation?

7 posted on 05/13/2009 3:05:52 PM PDT by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...
My visit to the Aida Refugee Camp this afternoon gives me a welcome opportunity to express my solidarity with all the homeless Palestinians who long to be able to return to their birthplace, or to live permanently in a homeland of their own... To all the officials of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency who care for the refugees, I express the appreciation felt by countless men and women all over the world for the work that is done here and in other camps throughout the region. I extend a particular greeting to the pupils and teachers in the school. By your commitment to education you are expressing hope in the future.

8 posted on 05/13/2009 3:36:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________ Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: NYer

They are not *walled up in camps.* They have walled THEMSELVES up in camps, on the promise of their brothers in countries that refuse to take them in, that when the so-called Zionist Entity is marched into the sea, that the WayBack Machine will restore the world to 1947.


9 posted on 05/14/2009 5:31:59 AM PDT by Appleby
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To: NYer

How old is this “refugee camp”? The Pope is being hosed. And if he isn’t he’s just plain dangerous. What a terrible disppointment.


10 posted on 05/14/2009 5:45:21 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: NYer

I have lost my ancestral home, too, so “Boo Hoo”. I have the same sympathy for the Palestinians as I do for myself. None. “Boo, Hoo”.


11 posted on 05/14/2009 12:56:23 PM PDT by tessalu
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