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Departure Ceremony, Ben Gurion Airport, Tel
Aviv, Israel
In a departure ceremony attended by the President and Prime
Minister of Israel, on Friday 15 May 2009, the Holy Father gave an
address, thanking all who assisted in his apostolic journey to the Holy
Land.
Mr President,
Mr Prime Minister,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I prepare to return to Rome, may I share with you some of the
powerful impressions that my pilgrimage to the Holy Land has left with
me. I had fruitful discussions with the civil authorities both in Israel
and in the Palestinian Territories, and I witnessed the great efforts
that both governments are making to secure people’s well-being. I have
met the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and I rejoice
to see the way that they work together in caring for the Lord’s flock. I
have also had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the various
Christian Churches and ecclesial communities as well as the leaders of
other religions in the Holy Land. This land is indeed a fertile ground
for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, and I pray that the rich
variety of religious witness in the region will bear fruit in a growing
mutual understanding and respect.
Mr President, you and I planted an olive tree at your residence on the
day that I arrived in Israel. The olive tree, as you know, is an image
used by Saint Paul to describe the very close relations between
Christians and Jews. Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans how the
Church of the Gentiles is like a wild olive shoot, grafted onto the
cultivated olive tree which is the People of the Covenant (cf.
11:17-24). We are nourished from the same spiritual roots. We meet as
brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense
relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of
lasting friendship.
The ceremony at the Presidential Palace was followed by one of the most
solemn moments of my stay in Israel – my visit to the Holocaust Memorial
at Yad Vashem, where I met some of the survivors who suffered the evils
of the Shoah.
Those deeply moving encounters brought back memories of my visit three
years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so many Jews – mothers,
fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends – were brutally
exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of
anti-Semitism and hatred. That appalling chapter of history must never
be forgotten or denied. On the contrary, those dark memories should
strengthen our determination to draw closer to one another as branches
of the same olive tree, nourished from the same roots and united in
brotherly love.
Mr President, I thank you for the warmth of your hospitality, which is
greatly appreciated, and I wish to put on record that I came to visit
this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the
Palestinian people. Friends enjoy spending time in one another’s
company, and they find it deeply distressing to see one another suffer.
No friend of the Israelis and the Palestinians can fail to be saddened
by the continuing tension between your two peoples. No friend can fail
to weep at the suffering and loss of life that both peoples have endured
over the last six decades. Allow me to make this appeal to all the
people of these lands: No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more
terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of
violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be
genuine reconciliation and healing. Let it be universally recognized
that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and
security within internationally agreed borders. Let it be likewise
acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign
independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the
two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream. And let peace
spread outwards from these lands, let them serve as a “light to the
nations” (Is 42:6), bringing hope to the many other regions that are
affected by conflict.
One of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands was the
wall. As I passed alongside it, I prayed for a future in which the
peoples of the Holy Land can live together in peace and harmony without
the need for such instruments of security and separation, but rather
respecting and trusting one another, and renouncing all forms of
violence and aggression. Mr President, I know how hard it will be to
achieve that goal. I know how difficult is your task, and that of the
Palestinian Authority. But I assure you that my prayers and the prayers
of Catholics across the world are with you as you continue your efforts
to build a just and lasting peace in this region.
It remains only for me to express my heartfelt thanks to all who have
contributed in so many ways to my visit. To the Government, the
organizers, the volunteers, the media, to all who have provided
hospitality to me and those accompanying me, I am deeply grateful.
Please be assured that you are remembered with affection in my prayers.
To all of you, I say: thank you, and may God be with you. Shalom!
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Visit to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem
After his Ecumenical Meeting with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch,
the Holy Father visited the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, in
Jerusalem, where, according to tradition, Christ was crucified, buried,
and resurrected. After a short discourse by the Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, the Holy Father gave the following
address.
Dear Friends in Christ,
The hymn of praise which we have just sung unites us with the angelic
hosts and the Church of every time and place – "the glorious company of
the apostles, the noble fellowship of the prophets and the white-robed
army of martyrs" – as we give glory to God for the work of our
redemption, accomplished in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. Before this Holy Sepulchre, where the Lord "overcame the sting
of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers", I greet all
of you in the joy of the Easter season. I thank Patriarch Fouad Twal and
the Custos, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for their kind greeting. I
likewise express my appreciation for the reception accorded me by the
Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic
Church. I gratefully acknowledge the presence of representatives of the
other Christian communities in the Holy Land. I also greet the Knights
and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre here present, with gratitude for their
Order’s unfailing commitment to the support of the Church’s mission in
these lands made holy by the Lord’s earthly presence.
Saint John’s Gospel has left us an evocative account of the visit of
Peter and the Beloved Disciple to the empty tomb on Easter morning.
Today, at a distance of some twenty centuries, Peter’s Successor, the
Bishop of Rome, stands before that same empty tomb and contemplates the
mystery of the Resurrection. Following in the footsteps of the Apostle,
I wish to proclaim anew, to the men and women of our time, the Church’s
firm faith that Jesus Christ "was crucified, died and was buried", and
that "on the third day he rose from the dead". Exalted at the right hand
of the Father, he has sent us his Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.
Apart from him, whom God has made Lord and Christ, "there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Standing in this holy place, and pondering that wondrous event, how can
we not be "cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37), like those who first heard
Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost? Here Christ died and rose,
never to die again. Here the history of humanity was decisively changed.
The long reign of sin and death was shattered by the triumph of
obedience and life; the wood of the Cross lay bare the truth about good
and evil; God’s judgement was passed on this world and the grace of the
Holy Spirit was poured out upon humanity. Here Christ, the new Adam,
taught us that evil never has the last word, that love is stronger than
death, that our future, and the future of all humanity, lies in the
hands of a faithful and provident God.
The empty tomb speaks to us of hope, the hope that does not disappoint
because it is the gift of the Spirit of life (cf. Rom 5:5). This is the
message that I wish to leave with you today, at the conclusion of my
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. May hope rise up ever anew, by God’s grace,
in the hearts of all the people dwelling in these lands! May it take
root in your hearts, abide in your families and communities, and inspire
in each of you an ever more faithful witness to the Prince of Peace! The
Church in the Holy Land, which has so often experienced the dark mystery
of Golgotha, must never cease to be an intrepid herald of the luminous
message of hope which this empty tomb proclaims. The Gospel reassures us
that God can make all things new, that history need not be repeated,
that memories can be healed, that the bitter fruits of recrimination and
hostility can be overcome, and that a future of justice, peace,
prosperity and cooperation can arise for every man and woman, for the
whole human family, and in a special way for the people who dwell in
this land so dear to the heart of the Saviour.
This ancient Memorial of the Anástasis bears mute witness both to the
burden of our past, with its failings, misunderstandings and conflicts,
and to the glorious promise which continues to radiate from Christ’s
empty tomb. This holy place, where God’s power was revealed in weakness,
and human sufferings were transfigured by divine glory, invites us to
look once again with the eyes of faith upon the face of the crucified
and risen Lord. Contemplating his glorified flesh, completely
transfigured by the Spirit, may we come to realize more fully that even
now, through Baptism, "we bear in our bodies the death of Jesus, that
the life of Jesus may be manifested in our own mortal flesh" (2 Cor
4:10-11). Even now, the grace of the resurrection is at work within us!
May our contemplation of this mystery spur our efforts, both as
individuals and as members of the ecclesial community, to grow in the
life of the Spirit through conversion, penance and prayer. May it help
us to overcome, by the power of that same Spirit, every conflict and
tension born of the flesh, and to remove every obstacle, both within and
without, standing in the way of our common witness to Christ and the
reconciling power of his love.
With these words of encouragement, dear friends, I conclude my
pilgrimage to the holy places of our redemption and rebirth in Christ. I
pray that the Church in the Holy Land will always draw new strength from
its contemplation of the empty tomb of the Savior. In that tomb it is
called to bury all its anxieties and fears, in order to rise again each
day and continue its journey through the streets of Jerusalem, Galilee
and beyond, proclaiming the triumph of Christ’s forgiveness and the
promise of new life. As Christians, we know that the peace for which
this strife-torn land yearns has a name: Jesus Christ. "He is our
peace", who reconciled us to God in one body through the Cross, bringing
an end to hostility (cf. Eph 2:14). Into his hands, then, let us entrust
all our hope for the future, just as in the hour of darkness he
entrusted his spirit into the Father’s hands.
Allow me to conclude with a special word of fraternal encouragement to
my brother Bishops and priests, and to the men and women religious who
serve the beloved Church in the Holy Land. Here, before the empty tomb,
at the very heart of the Church, I invite you to rekindle the enthusiasm
of your consecration to Christ and your commitment to loving service of
his mystical Body. Yours is the immense privilege of bearing witness to
Christ in this, the land which he sanctified by his earthly presence and
ministry. In pastoral charity enable your brothers and sisters, and all
the inhabitants of this land, to feel the healing presence and the
reconciling love of the Risen One. Jesus asks each of us to be a witness
of unity and peace to all those who live in this City of Peace. As the
new Adam, Christ is the source of the unity to which the whole human
family is called, that unity of which the Church is the sign and
sacrament. As the Lamb of God, he is the source of that reconciliation
which is both God’s gift and a sacred task enjoined upon us. As the
Prince of Peace, he is the source of that peace which transcends all
understanding, the peace of the new Jerusalem. May he sustain you in
your trials, comfort you in your afflictions, and confirm you in your
efforts to proclaim and extend his Kingdom. To all of you, and to those
whom you serve, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of
Easter joy and peace. |
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Visit to the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchal
Church of Jerusalem
Later in the morning of Friday, 15 May 2009, the Holy Father went
to the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchal Church of Jerusalem, at the
Monastery of St. James, where he met with the Patriarch His Beatitude
Torkom II Manoukian. After an address by His Beatitude, the Holy Father
gave the following discourse.
Your Beatitude,
I greet you with fraternal affection in the Lord, and I offer prayerful
good wishes for your health and your ministry. I am grateful for the
opportunity to visit this Cathedral Church of Saint James in the heart
of the ancient Armenian quarter of Jerusalem, and to meet the
distinguished clergy of the Patriarchate, together with the members of
the Armenian community of the Holy City.
Our meeting today, characterized by an atmosphere of cordiality and
friendship, is another step along the path towards the unity which the
Lord desires for all his disciples. In recent decades we have witnessed,
by God’s grace, a significant growth in the relationship between the
Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. I count it a great
blessing to have met in this past year with the Catholicos and Supreme
Patriarch of All Armenians Karekin II and with the Catholicos of Cilicia
Aram I. Their visits to the Holy See, and the moments of prayer which we
shared, have strengthened us in fellowship and confirmed our commitment
to the sacred cause of promoting Christian unity.
In a spirit of gratitude to the Lord, I wish also to express my
appreciation of the unwavering commitment of the Armenian Apostolic
Church to the continuing theological dialogue between the Catholic
Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This dialogue, sustained by
prayer, has made progress in overcoming the burden of past
misunderstandings, and offers much promise for the future. A particular
sign of hope is the recent document on the nature and mission of the
Church produced by the Mixed Commission and presented to the Churches
for study and evaluation. Together let us entrust the work of the Mixed
Commission once more to the Spirit of wisdom and truth, so that it can
bear abundant fruit for the growth of Christian unity, and advance the
spread of the Gospel among the men and women of our time.
From the first Christian centuries, the Armenian community in Jerusalem
has had an illustrious history, marked not least by an extraordinary
flourishing of monastic life and culture linked to the holy places and
the liturgical traditions which developed around them. This venerable
Cathedral Church, together with the Patriarchate and the various
educational and cultural institutions attached to it, testifies to that
long and distinguished history. I pray that your community will
constantly draw new life from its rich traditions, and be confirmed in
its witness to Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection (cf. Phil
3:10) in this Holy City. I likewise assure the families present, and
particularly the children and young people, of a special remembrance in
my prayers. Dear friends, I ask you in turn to pray with me that all the
Christians of the Holy Land will work together with generosity and zeal
in proclaiming the Gospel of our reconciliation in Christ, and the
advent of his Kingdom of holiness, justice and peace.
Your Beatitude, I thank you once more for your gracious welcome, and I
cordially invoke God’s richest blessings upon you and upon all the
clergy and faithful of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Holy Land.
May the joy and peace of the Risen Christ be always with you. |
