links: http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-land-joins-pope-francis-day-of-prayer-for-pea
Holy Land joins Pope Francis' day of prayer for peace in Syria, Mideast
2013-09-06 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) On Saturday, Christians in the Holy Land will be
observing the day called by Pope Francis for fasting and prayer for
peace in Syria. The Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land together with
the Latin Parish in Jerusalem have invited all Christians there to join
in the observances to pray for peace in the Middle East, Syria and
Egypt. Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, William Shomali told Tracey McClure “we took very seriously this wish of his Holiness. The Catholics of Jerusalem will meet at Gethsemane Church on Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. for an hour of adoration. We invited all the Catholic community of Jerusalem, even the non-Catholic communities – some of them will participate. This is the wish of the Holy Father also.”
Listen to the interview with Bishop Shomali:
The prayer vigil at the Basilica of Gethsemane will be followed by a candlelight procession in the Garden of Olives. The Crypt of the Armenian Catholic Church at the fourth station of the Via Dolorosa will also remain open for private and silent prayer from 7 pm until midnight Saturday in union with pilgrims gathered for the vigil in St. Peter’s square in Rome.
Though the “major event” will take place in Jerusalem, Bishop Shomali explains that priests in parishes across the diocese are planning their own spiritual activities and vigils. “for example in Ramallah, where we have one of our biggest parishes, the mass will be celebrated in the church of the Greek Catholics. Then the faithful will go to the Islamic club in Ramallah with candles in procession and Muslims will join them until they reach the Latin Catholic church. In this way, they are including with them non-Christians because prayer is not only for Catholics. It is for everyone.”
Bishop Shomali says churches in the Holy Land have prayed for peace in the past but this time, things are different, and special. “We prayed in the past for peace but not in this way, where we are united to all the Catholic churches in the world. So this unity and communion is something special and the emotional call done by his Holiness is also special. And the covering of the event in the local newspapers is also special. I give an example: in our daily newspaper Al-Quds – it’s not religious, it’s the national newspaper read by all Palestinians – two columns were reserved to publicize this event.”
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While the G20 remains divided, Pope Francis points to the right way - Peace without barriers
2013-09-07 L’Osservatore Romano
Saint Petersburg, 6. “Peace is a good which overcomes every
barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity”. This is Pope Francis'
latest tweet from his Twitter account @Pontifex calling for peace in
Syria. In another tweet today, he also invited young people to join him
in prayer. The new appeal by the Pontiff comes in a moment when world
leaders are meeting in Saint Petersburg and there has been no news of
the common solution for negotiating the situation in Syria.
Today
in his speech the Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon, underlined
that rash military action in Syria could cause “serious and tragic consequences”.
Yesterday, Ban Ki-moon said that he welcomes the “Pope's statement
calling for peace based on dialogue and negotiation and his call for a
day of prayer and fasting for Syria”.
The United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar
Brahimi also arrived in the Russian city with the hope of beginning the
international conference on Syria, the so-called “Geneva 2”.
Today the leaders remained divided on the strategies regarding the
crisis in Syria. President Vladimir Putin expressed his desire that the
working-dinner, which was held yesterday evening, be dedicated to the
issue, however no changes in position were made. Most of the
participants underlined that a political response is needed, while U.S.
President Barack Obama was unable to find a consensus to armed military
action against the government of the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Vatican Website
links:
http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-land-joins-pope-francis-day-of-prayer-for-pea
http://www.news.va/en/news/peace-without-barriers
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