JERUSALEM, Apr 8, 02 (FIDES/CWNews.com) - Christian officials today met with Israeli government leaders to discuss the tense confrontation at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The Catholic leaders involved were Jerusalem's Latin-rite Catholic Patriarch Michel Sabbah; Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio in Jerusalem; Father Giovanni Battistelli, the head of the Franciscan Custody for the Holy Land. Also, Bishop Aristarchos of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop Aris of the Armenian Apostolic Church also participated. The Israeli officials were the deputy foreign minister, Rabbi Michael Melchior; and the deputy defense minister, Dalia Rabin.
At noon on Monday, prior to the meeting in Jerusalem, a delegation of Christian leaders made a second effort to visit Bethlehem. There were turned away by Israeli troops at a checkpoint outside the city-- as they had been their previous effort to visit their people last week.
At the Israeli checkpoint, the Christian leaders issued a public statement, saying that "Bethlehem must not remain any more a place of war." The statement went on: "On this barrier of war, we proclaim the Gospel of peace: the Gospel of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace."
On Saturday morning, Israeli soldiers had stopped a Red Cross van from delivering food to the 250 people inside the Church of the Nativity. The group includes 200 Palestinian gunmen, along with Catholic and Orthodox monks and nuns.
Father David Jaeger, spokesman for the Franciscans, said that the Israeli determination to starve those inside the shrine was "inhuman." He pointed out: "it means they are involving and starving the friars and nuns who have nothing to do with the conflict."
The Franciscan order also reported with concern that the community in Bethlehem had lost contact with one friar, Friar Lorenzo, who is stationed at the "Shrine of the Milk" near the Nativity Church. Friar Lorenzo was alone in the shrine at the time the Church of the Nativity was occupied and a curfew put in force. The Franciscan order issued an appeal, through the Fides news service, for someone-- a doctor of diplomat-- to be allowed to visit the shrine and check on the condition of Friar Lorenzo.
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8. april 2002