Wednesday 16 December 2009

Holy Land



For some nights in Jerusalem some persons have worked hard to sow hatred in the Christian part of Sion. Next to the Upper Room is the Franciscan Friary where five friars live. The Friary door has been vandalised with graffiti exhorting the Christians to leave and other comments (see photo). The door is also being used as a urinal.
The friars have decided to make this public after a larger graffiti on one of the Walls of the Dormition Abbey invoked death to the Christians, “Mawet lanostrim”. After protests with the authorities, the large graffiti was cleaned.
The edifice that houses the place of the Upper Room was the official residence of the Custody of the Holy See, but the friars were evicted in 1551 when the Upper Room was turned into a mosque to honour what is thought to be the tomb of King David. Because of this alleged burial, the area is considered holy by both Muslims and Jews. The Franciscans have never ceded the property and the Upper Room is a vital part of negotiations between the Holy See and the state of Israel.
Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for Christians in the Holy Land.


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