JERUSALEM, Mar. 12, 01 (CWNews.com) - The Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem was refused entry to a West Bank town by Israeli soldiers on Friday, even though Patriarch Michel Sabbah holds a diplomatic passport from the Vatican.
Patriarch Sabbah was traveling to the village of Ein Arik, near Ramallah, with several priests to celebrate Mass on Friday night when he was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint, according to a spokesman for the patriarch. Father Raed Abusahlia, chancellor of the patriarchate, said the soldiers refused to honor the special ID given to the patriarch by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs.
The soldiers also refused even to listen to explanations provided by Father Giovanni Cinti, the parish priest in Ein Arik, and even held him briefly. The patriarch was also unable to visit the village of Bir Zeit, since roads to the town had been cut off by the Israeli army.
"We really wonder if such incidents happen to a senior clergyman, so how is the daily life of the regular Palestinian citizens," said Father Abusahlia.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
12. mars 2001