VATICAN CITY, MARCH 1, 2012 thanks to Zenit.org
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches, has sent a letter to the bishops of the world concerning the
traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land. The letter also bears the signature of Archbishop Cyril Vasil,
secretary of the congregation.
“The Son of God made man, after having crossed this land
announcing the Kingdom and confirming the word with mighty works, wonders and
signs, went up to the Holy City to immolate Himself”, reads the English-language
version of the letter. “From that time, every Christian finds himself at
home in that City and in that Land. This is possible thanks to the pastors in
this place, who, by the will of the Lord Jesus, continue in our day also to
gather our brothers and sisters in the faith to celebrate the love of Him Who
‘makes all things new’.
“The Congregation for the Oriental Churches hereby reminds
the bishops of the entire world of the unceasing request of Pope Benedict XVI
that the mission of the Church in the Holy Places be generously supported.
Although specifically pastoral, this mission at the same time offers a
praiseworthy social service to all without exception. In this way, fraternity,
which can overcome division and discrimination, increases and gives renewed
impetus to ecumenical dialogue and interreligious collaboration. This
constitutes an admirable work of peace and reconciliation, which is all the
more necessary today, as we share the Holy Father’s preoccupation ‘for the
people of those countries where hostilities and acts of violence continue,
particularly Syria and the Holy Land'”.
“This year, Good Friday seems more fitting than ever as a
sign of the needs of both pastors and faithful, which are bound up with the
sufferings of the entire Middle East. For the disciples of Christ, hostility is
often the daily bread which nourishes the faith and sometimes makes the echo of
martyrdom. Christian emigration is exacerbated by the lack of peace, which
tends to impoverish hope, changing it into the fear of facing alone a future
that seems to exist only in the abandonment of one’s own country.
“Nonetheless, as was the case for the Gospel’s grain of
wheat, so the trials of Christians in the Holy Land prepare without doubt a
brighter tomorrow. The dawning of this new day, however, requires support now
for schools, medical assistance, critical housing, meeting places, and
everything else that the generosity of the Church has devised”.
“We have the duty to restore the spiritual patrimony which we
have received from these Christians’ two millennia of fidelity to the truth of
the faith. We can and must do this by our prayer, by concrete assistance, and
by pilgrimages. The Year of Faith, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of
Vatican Council II, will provide particular motivation for us to direct our
steps towards that Land. … Next Good Friday, around the Cross of Christ, let
us be conscious of being together with these brothers and sisters of ours. May
the loneliness that is at times strongly felt in their situation be overcome by
our fraternity”.
Also made public today was a report prepared by the Custody of the
Holy Land (a province of the Order of Friars Minor with responsibility for the
Holy Places), listing the works carried out with the proceeds of the Good Friday
collection of 2011. Restoration and maintenance has been carried out on
numerous shrines, churches and convents in the Holy Land including such places
as Bethlehem, Jerusalem (Gethsemane and the Shrine of the Flagellation, among
others), Jaffa, Magdala and Mount Tabor. Other initiatives sought to improve
welcome services for pilgrims.
A significant part of the proceeds was used to fund student
scholarships, to help small business, and to build houses, schools and areas
for children. Other recipients of aid included families, parish communities,
the poor and cultural institutions.