Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem was closed on May 27, 2014 after an arson attack set fire to crosses in the church the day before. Credit: Paul Badde / CNA.
Posted on 05/28/2014 1:47:41 PM PDT by NYer
Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem was closed on May 27, 2014 after an arson attack set fire to crosses in the church the day before. Credit: Paul Badde / CNA.
.- As Pope Francis concluded his trip to the Holy Land on May 26, an unknown man attempted to set fire to the Abbey of the Dormition, the place where according to tradition the Virgin Mary fell asleep before being assumed into Heaven.
Witnesses told the EFE news agency that an unknown man set fire to a book and placed it on top of a small pile of wooden crosses in between the pews. The fire was immediately extinguished.
“We called the police right away and fortunately the security team for the papal visit was still in place. Firefighters arrived and were able to control the flames,” one of the Benedictine monks at the abbey told EFE.
Israeli police are investigating the incident.
Another witness told EFE that after the Pope's Mass, a group of young ultra-Orthodox Jews accompanied by their rabbi, began verbally confronting the Franciscan friars and accusing them of perverting the Jewish holiness of the building where the Upper Room is located, believed to be the site of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' apostles
Since the 12th century, Jews have held that the tomb of King David is located beneath the building. For this reason, Israeli officials do not allow Mass to be celebrated there except on Holy Thursday and Pentecost. Special permission was granted for Pope Francis' visit.
Located on Mount Zion, the Upper Room was under the care of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land for 200 years, but Suleiman the Magnificent expropriated it in the 16th century, and it came under the control of the Israelis after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
The building has been the target of repeated vandalism and protests in recent years by extremist Jews who demand the expulsion of Christians.
Ping!
Gosh, how very muslim of them!
I was actually unaware that mass is said there twice a year. I thought the Pope's mass was a radical change of policy and a "cave-in."
I still think such a service over the tomb of King David is inappropriate and is a subtle declaration of supersessionism.
Not really.
Yep!
I didn’t know either, I thought the Mass was going to make the building impure by Halakhah standards. Also, it is hard to imagine observant Jews celebrating Passover in a building over a tomb, but even if we accept that, it still seems to me like it is the tomb of Israel’s king, in Israel’s capital... I didn’t feel comfortable with having a Mass there. Aren’t there plenty of other holy sites in Jerusalem?
Yes, that's exactly the problem--rendering the Tomb of King David ritually impure. But of course Catholicism doesn't recognize Halakhah. I can understand why they wanted to have a mass there . . . it's supposed to be the exact room where the very first mass was said. And at the time, I don't think there was a tomb underneath it (I'm not sure, but I think David's body was brought there later from its original burial place).
This is simply a case of one religion being right and the other being wrong--or one true and the other false. American Fundamentalist chrstians don't like to think of it this way, but that's the way it actually is.
Hold your horses! I am an American Evangelical Christian, who happens to acknowledge that Jesus was a devout Jew. I also believe in all the promises made in the Tanakh to Abraham and his descendants for eternity, so I reckon that makes me an Evangelical Zionist. But I disagree with your statement that one religion is true and the other false. There are many things I think are wrong in Catholicism, but overall there should not be hard feelings between Christians and Jews. Jews are the original olive tree and we are wild branches grafted into it. My point was that since that building is the tomb of a Jewish king, located in the Jewish capital, and being used by Jews, I thought it was wrong to do anything there that would go against Halakhah. It has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it is basic courtesy and acknowledgment that you were there first and have all rights to the location. I would NEVER agree to celebrate Mass or any other Christian service there, out of respect to our older brothers in the faith.
I'm sorry. It is what it is.
Is there a more annoying phrase than that?
It is what it is
Is there a more annoying phrase than that?
Wow . . . what a powerful refutation of the observation that we must deal with the reality in which we find ourselves![/sarcasm]
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