JERUSALEM, Sep. 12, 00 (CWNews.com/Fides) - The highest Christian authorities in Israel met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami on Monday to discuss the future status of Jerusalem in the peace process, but Ben Ami said the controversial new mosque in Nazareth would not be discussed.
Attending the meeting were Latin Patriarch Michael Sabbah, Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoukian, a delegate for Greek Orthodox Patriarch Diodoros, and Franciscan Father Giovanni Battistelli, of the Custodians of the Holy Land. The foreign minister asked to see the religious leaders to seek Christians' opinion about the future status of Jerusalem.
The patriarchs were anxious to discuss with the controversial question of the mosque at Nazareth, to be built in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation. For a year the churches in the Holy Land have called on the government to withdraw the decision to allow the building of a mosque on this site and criticized anti-Christian attitudes in the favor shown by the Israel government toward Muslim fundamentalists, lamenting evident inefficiency of security forces.
Sources said the foreign minister's reply was adamant: "This is something I refuse to discuss: the mosque is not on the order of the day I prepared." Franciscans working in Jerusalem have said that the "problem of the mosque is bound to dominate relations between Israel and the Christian Churches. It is time for the Israeli government to stop playing the ostrich."
In the meantime the various Christian communities have been discussing future steps to convince the Israeli government to withdraw permission for the mosque, which has also been criticized by the highest Muslim authorities.
The question of the mosque also revealed that, regarding the future status of Jerusalem, the case of Nazareth shows that the Holy Places, sacred for Christians all over the world, cannot be managed by local authorities and must be safeguarded by international guarantees, local sources said.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs