Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 59, OFM, Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem (and a man whom some believe may be a candidate to become the next Pope), in Rome tonight, striding out of a Roman church just after celebrating an evening Mass, towering over most of those walking with him. As he celebrated Mass, in Israel it was announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed forces in southern Lebanon, have agreed to ceasefire which will begin at 9 p.m. this evening (New York time), and 4 a.m. in Israel and Lebanon.
Then, just an hour after this Mass, after a panel discussion and a series of talks on the history of translating the Bible into Arabic, Pizzaballa received the first printed copy of a new Arabic translation of the entire Bible, three years in preparation. Speakers said the chief characteristics of this new Arabic version are that it is very clear, “written in a language the the average Arab-speaking person can understand,” and, that it contains “new, detailed commentaries which will answer questions” those reading the text may have.
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Letter #63, 2024, Tuesday, November 26: Pizzaballa
Tonight, November 26, may be remembered as the night of the “two bridges” in the long, troubled journey toward peace in the Middle East, and in the world.
The first “bridge” was Israel’s announcement a few hours ago — just as the Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem was beginning to celebrate a Mass in Rome — that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, 75 made the announcement, which began to hit journalists’ cell phones as Pizzaballa was asking the faithful in the congregation in Rome to “offer one another a sign of peace.”
The second bridge, which, as far as I know, has not yet been reported on anywhere else, is a new bible translation into the Arabic language, released this evening in Rome in a ceremony presided over by Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 59.
Tonight Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 75, announced Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, after many weeks of bloody exchanges of drones and missiles.
The ceasefire is set to start at 4 a.m. Israeli time, or 9 p.m. New York time (the two are 7 hours apart) — so in about two hours.
The ceasefire comes after more than a year of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.
An estimated 44,249 Palestinians, primarily in Gaza, have been killed and 104,746 wounded since October 7, 2023.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.
In Lebanon, at least 3,768 people have been killed and 15,699 wounded in Israeli attacks, and over one million forced from their homes, since the war on Gaza began.
Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.
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Cardinal Pizzaballa won global esteem last year, soon after the Israel-Gaza conflict broke out, when he offered to exchange himself for the Israeli hostages, saying he was prepared to give himself up so that hundreds in danger would be safe (link).
Tonight, Pizzaballa celebrated Mass in the church of Santa Maria Regina degli Apostoli (St. Mary Queen of the Apostles) alla Montagnola, a parish under the care of the Società San Paolo (Society of St. Paul, known in Italy as the Paolini), located not far from St. Paul’s-Outside-the-Walls in the Ostiense area of Rome, in via Antonino Pio.
Below, Pizzaballa distributing communion
Below, Pizzaballa receiving the first printed copy of the new Bible in Arabic, which will now be widely distributed throughout the Arabic-speaking world
Below, me with 85-year-old Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Chacour, who was present at the Mass and Arabic-language Bible presentation in Rome this evening.
Chacour served as archbishop of several cities in the Holy Land, including Nazareth (where Jesus grew up).
Chacour recently broke his hand in a fall, hence the bandage, and the wheel-chair, but is recovering well, and he actually invited me and any readers of this letter to visit him in the Galilee region of Israel.
Chacour is a “Palestinian Arab-Israeli” (he speaks Hebrew as well as Arabic, and English) who served as the Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 2006 to 2014. Noted for his efforts to promote reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews, he is the author of two books about the experience of Palestinian people living in present-day Israel. He describes himself as a “Palestinian-Arab-Christian-Israeli.”
Chacour came to the village of Ibillin in the Galilee as a young priest in 1965. Seeing the lack of educational opportunities for Arab youth beyond the 8th grade, Chacour created a school open to all local children regardless of religious affiliation. The school now includes a kindergarten, primary school, high school and program for gifted children. The co-educational Mar Elias Educational Institutions has an enrollment of 2,750 students from age 3 through 18, including Muslims, Christians, and Druze.
In 2001, Chacour was named “Man of the Year” in Israel.
In 2001, Chacour gave an address at commencement at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he accepted an honorary degree.
An excerpt from his speech on that occasion:
You who live in the United States, if you are pro-Israel, on behalf of the Palestinian children I call unto you: give further friendship to Israel. They need your friendship. But stop interpreting that friendship as an automatic antipathy against me, the Palestinian who is paying the bill for what others have done against my beloved Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holocaust and Auschwitz and elsewhere.
And if you have been enlightened enough to take the side of the Palestinians — oh, bless your hearts — take our sides, because for once you will be on the right side, right? But if taking our side would mean to become one-sided against my Jewish brothers and sisters, back up. We do not need such friendship. We need one more common friend. We do not need one more enemy, for God’s sake.
From a 9 February 2006 speech regarding becoming Archbishop of Galilee:
I did not dream of this responsibility and this great honor. My dreams were different. At 65 years of age, my ambition was to dedicate the rest of my life to prayer, reading and writing, but like Paul on the way to Damascus the Lord seems to tell me that he is the one in control. My answer is, “Here I am Lord. I am your servant to continue the ministry of reconciliation and to proclaim more forcefully the Good News about the Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord.” No doubt my first reaction was tears of awe, of joy and of gratitude.
Chacour is the winner of the Niwano Peace Award and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Chacour is the author of two best selling books, Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land. Blood Brothers covers his childhood growing up in the town of Biram and his early years as a priest in Ibillin. This book has been translated into more than 20 languages.
His second book, We Belong to the Land, recounts his work in the development of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, from humble beginnings to major schools for educating Palestinian Muslim, Christian and Druze young people and for helping to bring about reconciliation in a land of strife. This book has been translated into 11 languages.
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