Pope John Paul II’s Visit to the Holy Land – An Assessment
31 March 2000

See Photo

Summary

1.Religious - in the sense of personal, spiritual enrichment;

2.Historical - in an attempt at reconciliation of the three Abrahamic Faiths;

3.Political - as the role of peacemaker, the duty of anyone who would call himself the Vicar of Christ (from Papal biographer Ted Szule).

Metropolitan Timotheos:
We see the fore mentioned reasons for the Pope's visit as being real and convincing. We do not believe that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, but we do accept him as a peacemaker. We see the three reasons as interrelated and inseparable. We cannot deny that all reasons for the Pope's visit have political dimensions and aspects. However, I have a complaint concerning the visit of 13 Orthodox leaders last Christmas. No one, especially the PA, gave them the proper attention. And the reason for this, from my point of view, is that the Palestinians are expecting more from the Pope than from the Church leaders.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
There were a couple of reasons that caused that situation:

1. Lack of communication regarding the logistics of the visit

2.The tendency to think that everything must be approved and decided by the Head of the PA.

Metropolitan Timotheos: The religious impact of the Pope's visit is significant. It encouraged people to imitate him and to come and visit Jerusalem, as the Pope is an important role model. The Pope was very careful about choosing his words. He satisfied neither Palestinian nor Israeli expectations in terms of his political statements. The Orthodox Church welcomes any agreement that may bring people together, but the Vatican does not represent all the churches in Palestine. The Pope's visit did not heal the divisions between the churches; it did not narrow the gap between them.

Dr. Bernard Sabella:
I am very disappointed in the lack of interest in the Muslim-Christian issue, as the majority of those in attendance were Christians.

Rev. Riah Abu Al-Asal:
The emphasis of the Pope's visit was on meeting people, the living stones, and on telling the churches of the world to wake up. His visit emphasized that there is an Arab-Christian community (as not all Arabs are Muslims or all Muslims Arabs). We are part of the three faiths: Despite differences in religious backgrounds, we can and should complement one another. We can achieve reconciliation amongst our three faiths. We all go back to Abraham; we are the children of Abraham. Abraham is the father of faith, and he was never a Jew. If any party tries to run the show exclusively, it will find its attempts self-destructive. Christians in Jerusalem need to be recognized. The Pope's visit provided them with this recognition. The Pope is the head of a state, and as a result of his visit, he provided recognition to the PA. The Pope was not influenced by anyone; he managed to prevent anyone from making him a puppet. I am very much disappointed in the attitudes and behavior of Sheikh Tamimi, in reference to the meeting that was held in the Notre Dame. Tamimi should have started his speech as the Chief Rabbi did, by welcoming the Pope.

Adnan Husseini:
The meeting of the Mufti or any other Islamic leader with the rabbis, and the Chief Rabbi in particular, becomes the focus for political interpretation, as many people feel that such a meeting is unacceptable. We did not want this to happen because we did not want to give any advantage to Israel. We invited Mr. Ahmad Natour, but the suggestion was rejected.

Rev. Riah Abu Al-Asal:
Sheikh Tamimi said that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine. Sheikh Tamimi was not addressing the world. He was provocative, and he embarrassed us.

Dr. Bernard Sabella:
We, as Palestinians, have a cultural conflict because the Christians’ scope of thinking is international, while that of the Muslims' is domestic. We cannot manipulate the definition of who is Palestinian and who is not according to our interests.

Ibrahim Dai’bes:

In reference to the agreements with the PLO, no one has the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinians living in Jerusalem. I don’t think that the visit of the Pope added anything to Christian-Muslim relations or to Christian-Christian relations. However, it was a chance to initiate future cooperation, better communication and mutual respect. After the Pope's visit, Christians did not return home; they did not stop their emigration to various countries, and inner relations amongst them did not improve. The Pope prayed for the Palestinians to have a home, but he did not mention anything about a state, and the definition of home is very broad. The Pope did not apologize for the Jews, but asked God for forgiveness. Sheikh Tamimi was aggressive, and did not take into consideration the diverse attendance. Tamimi’s speech was given in the wrong place at the wrong time. We did not benefit from the Pope's visit to the Dheisheh Refugee Camp because we did not use it as we should or could have.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
Can we re-contextualize the Pope's visit and try to benefit from it now?

Ibrahim Dai’bes:
Yes we can. This could be accomplished through serious negotiations between Christian and Muslim leaders who are truly willing to reach reconciliation. Also, we must political speeches aside and try to work on a logical basis. In addition to the previously mentioned points, we should clarify and reflect on the Pope's views through forums and outreach of non-governmental organizations.

Dr. Bernard Sabella:
The Pope came and went, and I am not optimistic about the signs and symptoms of reconciliation, especially concerning the Muslim-Christian relationship.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
Maybe we wanted the Pope to give witness to our struggle as a form of recognition for the Palestinians.

Dr. Bernard Sabella:
We as Palestinians are always reacting and not acting.

Metropolitan Timotheos:
This meeting should have taken place three months ago - before the Pope's visit.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
We should work in Jerusalem as a community, and we should meet on a continuous basis.

Adnan Husseini:
The visit of the Pope is considered a political visit; we cannot consider it a pilgrimage only. The Pope's visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was a success. The Pope was welcomed in a proper manner by The Mufti, Mr. Faisal Husseini and Sheikh Tamimi. During the meeting with the Pope, they discussed the atmosphere in the region, the rights of the Palestinians in their land and the consequences of the closure.

Metropolitan Timotheos: The Orthodox Church draws no distinction between its Greek and Arab members.  However, on the street, there is a clear discrimination between the Greeks and the Arabs. Any invitation should be addressed to the Orthodox Church and not to particular individuals within the church.

Adnan Husseini:
No one has the right to stress minor issues or actions and neglect the core issues.

Wadi’ Abu Nassar:
The Pope's visit lacked adequate basic communication. He was trying to keep his visit out of political debate.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
Did Metropolitan Sabah invite the churches in Palestine to meet in preparation for the Pope's visit?

Wadi’ Abu Nassar:
No.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
There is an inner conflict that caused the lack of communication between the churches.

Father Peter Madrous:
The Pope's visit was purely religious. And, as the Pope said, the heart of his pilgrimage is Bethlehem, not Jerusalem. The Pope's visit did not emphasize the Christian-Muslim relationship as it was supposed to.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi:
The visit is about the Jewish-Christian reconciliation, as Dr. Harry Hagopian declared to the BBC.

Father Peter Madrous: Mr. Husseini spoke very logically and objectively. The Pope came for everybody, regardless of religious background.

[Back]