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Spokesman of Holy Land Custody Evaluates Pontiff's Visit

JERUSALEM, MAR 27 (ZENIT.org).- John Paul II's pilgrimage to the places of revelation may bring Jews in Israel to rewrite their history books, according to a spokesman for the Franciscan custodians of the Holy Land. Fr. Frederic Manns spoke with the Vatican agency "Fides," providing a preliminary evaluation of the repercussions of this visit.

Impact on Jewish World Fr. Manns began by analyzing the impact on the Jewish world. He made a distinction between Orthodox Jews, "who don't want to have anything to do with the Pope," and intellectuals and politicians, generally lay people, "who are delighted with the visit." Among these is Ehud Barak, who is continuing the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin, "the first to open relations with the Vatican."

Fr. Manns said that behind "Barak's success is Rabin's sacrifice. A new era is beginning everywhere between Judaism and Christianity."

As regards the impact on the Jewish people, the spokesman of the Custodians of the Holy Land, who is also director of the Jerusalem Center of Biblical Studies, believes that "up until now, they did not know much about Christianity." Now Israelis realize "that it is necessary to review the history books," because in school everything that related to the Church "was interpreted or eliminated."

"The press and television covered the events," noted the Franciscan, "which was unique in Israel's history, offering services on the Catholic Church, and stirring curiosity even in the larger public."

Impact on Muslim World Fr. Manns believes that in regard to Yasser Arafat, things could not have been better. In advocating a "homeland" for the Palestinians, the Pope followed the same road undertaken by Israel in the Balfour Declaration, in which Palestinians were promised a "homeland."

The Franciscan feared that the Islamic fundamentalists, conscious of the good relations established by the Pope with Israel, might increase tensions with the Christian population. "Some Muslim extremists of Nazareth have said that, after the Pope's visit, they will begin to construct the mosque, instead of waiting for the year 2001, as agreed with the Israeli government. They justify this action by accusing Christians of betraying the Palestinians."

Impact on Palestinian Christians Finally, the visit had a decisive impact on the local Christian community. "It is hard for the Church in Palestine to accept Judaism. The rejection of the State of Israel over decades placed the Jewish root of the Christian faith on hold for a time. Moreover, another economic factor must be kept in mind. There are many wealthy Christians in the Palestinian territories, but they prefer to go abroad, take out new citizenship, and not invest creatively in this area. In appealing for the rediscovery of their identity as God's children, the Pope also asked that they commit themselves to affirm human dignity."

"Christians must acknowledge the great dignity of Jews and Muslims," asserted the priest. "They can, indeed, be a bridge of reconciliation. For example, the Christians of the area reject the Bible or, rather, the Old Testament, because they say it is 'Israel's Book.' In other words, they make a political reading of the Bible, and, in this way, justify the political readings that Israel makes of the Bible. During his pilgrimage the Pope asked that the spiritual message of the Bible be rediscovered - the promises to Abraham and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. I hope that in the future the Church in Jerusalem will give birth to the greatest Biblical scholars, as for them it is much easier than for a Westerner to learn Hebrew and penetrate the Jewish mentality."

Zenit - The World Seen From Rome