Study day on the Latin Patriarchate

More than 150 participants from all over the country gathered for a study day about the Latin Patriarchate. In the morning they heard lectures and in the afternoon the went on field trips to the institutions of the Patriarchate. 

Four lectures were given during the morning:
Ms. Yisca Harani, a prominent lecturer and researcherof Christianity, opened with a lecture on the history of the Patriarchate. Dr. Amnon Ramon, from the Jerusalem Institute for the Study of the Land of Israel,  lectured on the attitude of the Latin Patriarchate to Zionism and the State of Israel in the modern period. Father David Neuhaus, Patriarchal Vicar for the Hebrew Speaking Catholic Vicariate in Israel, spoke about the place of the Hebrew speaking community in the life of the Patriarchate. Father Shawki Baterian, General Administrator of the Patriarchate, ended the morning session with a description of the activities of the Patriarchate.

Especially interesting was the lecture of Ms. Harani who has been teaching Christanity to Jews in many different frameworks for many years. She used an Israeli and Jewish vocabulary to describe historical processes that the Catholic Church in the country had undergone. Here are three examples:
1. When she spoke of the establishment of the Carmelite rule in the Holy Land during the Crusades, she called the order "a blue and white order" (referring to the colors of the Israeli flag). (Father David, in his lecture, later commented that this expression must have made Father Daniel Rufeisen (Carmelite and one of the pioneers of the Hebrew speaking community, a proud Israeli) jump for joy in heaven.
2. She described the Franciscans in their tenacious defence of the Holy Places as "the elite command platoon" (sayeret matkal) - an elite unit of the Israeli army.
3. She defined the reestablishment of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem in 1847 as "the return to Zion" and as "the reestablishment of the crown to its pristine place" - both Jewish expressions.

In the afternoon, the participants broke up into five groups and visited different institutions of the Patriarchate: the Sisters of the Rosary, the school of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, the house of the Sisters of Saint Vincent and the ecclesiastical court. At the end of the day, the different groups came together in the church of the Latin Patriarchate and they were received there by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Fouad Twal. In his words to them, translated by his Vicar for the Hebrew speaking communities, Father David, he shared with them his vision of the work of the Patriarchate in the difficult circumstances in which we live. He focused on those aspects that give strength to continue to work for justice and peace and he emphasized the importance of the visit of the Pope.

The day was a great success and we commend the organizers for this beautiful initiative... may they increase...