Middle East Archives

Vatican: Jerusalem needs “internationally guaranteed” special status
- Vatican
- July 26, 2017
A Vatican diplomat has told the UN Security Council the historical status quo of the holy sites in the Holy Land is “a matter of profound sensitivities,” and reminded them that Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Israel sparked a crisis by unilaterally installing metal detectors at the Temple Mount, leading to Muslims accusing the Jewish state of trying to expand control at the site under the guise of security.
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Israel begins removing metal detectors from Temple Mount
- Associated Press, Global Church
- July 25, 2017
Israel has begun removing metal detectors it installed in response to an Arab attack that killed two Israeli police guards at the Muslim-administered area of the Temple Mount, leading to protests from Muslims accusing Israel of trying to expand control at the site under the guise of security.
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6 killed as tensions over shrine turn violent in Israel
- Associated Press, Global Church
- July 22, 2017
What began with the attempt by Israel to put up metal detectors at al-Aqsa Mosque after an attack that left two Israeli police dead, has now wrought more violence. A young Palestinian man broke into an Israeli settler’s home to kill those he found there at dinner. The Church leaders in the Holy Land had been warning that any attempt to modify the Status Quo of the holy sites would lead to more violence.
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Parolin’s visit to Russia key step in Pope Francis’s courtship of Putin

July 21, 2017

The second highest-ranking official in the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is preparing for his August trip to Russia. The historic event represents a key step in Pope Francis’s courtship with President Putin, with one eye pointed toward ambitious ecumenical possibilities with the Orthodox Church and the other fixed on the Middle East.

At Fatima, cardinal consecrates Lebanon, Middle East to Mary

Thousands of faithful from the Middle East as well as Lebanese diaspora from around the world joined Cardinal Bechara Rai for the Mass and recitation of the rosary on occasion of the “Lebanon Day in Fatima,” which this year commemorated the centennial of the apparitions.

Pope: Clergy in Middle East must be the ‘last among the least’

Pope Francis called clergy in the Middle East to “learn to be the last among the least,” and lamented the continued plight of Christians suffering due to persecution. “Let us not forget,” the pope said, that “Christians — it doesn’t matter whether they are Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant — shed their blood as a seal of their witness.”