President Cottrell recognized the presence of Archbishop Patrick F. Flores and introduced Father Charles Miller, SM, who was responsible for the patriarch’s presence, noting that Father Miller had himself spent 12 years in the Middle East and Jerusalem. Also recognized as distinguished guests were Father Hanna Kaldany, director of the Catholic schools in Jordan, and Father Andrew Christiansen, SJ, associate editor of America magazine.
    Father Miller related that while serving in the Holy Land from January 2000 through August 2003, he had personally seen the horrors of suicide bombs a few hundred yards from his office and knew persons killed and disabled in bus bombings. “I saw the damage, the demolished houses of my own friends, uprooted olive groves, the wall that separates innocent families from their relatives, their schools and their farmlands. It is a land filled with terribly unholy voices of hurt and anger and hatred and violence,” he said.
    “But,” he added, “it was also my privilege, these last few years, to get to know the patriarch, Dr. Michel Sabbah, a clear voice for peace, for justice, for reconciliation – for hope in the face of seemingly insuperable obstacles on both sides.”

    Father Miller noted Patriarch Sabbah had been born in Nazareth in 1933, was ordained a priest in 1955, and earned a doctorate in Arabic philology at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1973. He was named president of Bethlehem University, the only Catholic university in the Holy Land, in 1980 and, in 1988, was named Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope John Paul II. “Patriarch Sabbah’s work for peace has been recognized both here in the United States and abroad,” said Father Miller, naming many of the degrees and honors that have been bestowed upon him.
    “Patriarch Sabbah’s writings and speeches have shown his sensitivity to the concerns of both Israelis and Palestinians in the conflict,” he said. “He has maintained connections and dialogue with both Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land.”

    Patriarch Sabbah expressed his gratitude for the honor conferred upon him by the university, but lamented the fact that, despite his many awards for peace, the Holy Land itself has not found peace.     He described the Holy Land as the site of holy places where God manifested himself. “It is a place where man tries to reach God’s love and, when he discovers it, he sees that God’s love is equal for all,” he said. “We are equally the children of God, whatever may be our religion or our nationality.”
    He regretfully noted “the human complications, which make of the holy place – and of religion itself – an element of the human cultural or national identity,” thus turning it into something to struggle for and defend with wars and violence. “Instead of reconciliation, today in Palestine and Israel, the holy places are one of the major causes for the conflict between the two peoples,” he said, noting a true believer must question allowing attachment to a geographical holy place to become a cause for bloodshed.
    “The true believer leaves the holy places in the hands of God,” he said. “As he has chosen the time of making them holy, it is up to him to choose the time when these places will be accessible to all, so that all can find in them a source of new blessings.” He noted that Jesus himself spoke about this attachment when he said: “The hour is coming when you will worship your father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. The hour is coming when you will worship the father in spirit and (in?) truth.”

    Patriarch Sabbah noted that the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is a conflict between two cultures, but that “religion has a great influence because all societies in the East are based on a religion.” He pointed out, “The two peoples have lived together in peace for centuries,” adding that it was only with the reversal of the economic ratio between the two in the 20th century (with Jewish immigration and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948), that the Palestinians started to fear losing their land and freedom. “Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians became refugees,” he said.
    While acknowledging that some radical Palestinians espouse violent ways to end the Israeli occupation of their lands, he stated, “The majority of Palestinians … are against this violent way of dealing with the occupation and are for peace talks.” Referring to the government of Israel, he said, “It seems that it does not believe that Palestinians want peace – or it does not believe that the Israelis themselves are able to live in peace with the Palestinians.”
    He continued, “The Israeli choice today is separation of the two peoples. Therefore the wall started to be built, though it is no remedy at all. It will only separate the good people on both sides. .. It will convert those who are not enemies into enemies.”

     The patriarch noted one might question whether love and forgiveness are possible in the midst of war. Though this may seem difficult, he pointed out that “every human person has his dignity, which is god-given, and therefore every killing is immoral.” He went on to say, “This means that, in spite of the evil that a human being is capable of, he still remains God’s creation, his image, loved by him.”
    He noted this does not mean indifference to evil, but imitating Christ in forgiving our enemies, and respecting the human dignity of the perpetrator of an evil act, while requiring that evil actions stop and any evil done be repaired. “Forgiveness is not resignation to the power of evil,” he observed.     “Forgiveness is possible. It is difficult … but it remains possible because it is, above all, a gift and a grace of God.”

    At the conclusion of his remarks, Patriarch Sabbah addressed questions from the audience, making several further observations on the current conflict in the Holy Land.
    Responding to Christians in the Holy Land described as being caught between Palestinians and Israelis, he commented, “Palestinian Christians are Palestinian. And so, when Palestinians are suffering, Christians are suffering. They are not suffering because they are Christians; they are suffering because they are Palestinians.” He added, “To be Christian in the Holy Land will always be a difficult life. The main reason is that we are living in the land of the Cross – the Cross for redemption of the world – and the cross … still refused by the land where it happened.”
    When asked if he foresaw any viable solution to the current hostilities, he replied: “As long as there is no will to make peace, no one can impose peace on this conflict. … The key is when Israel wants to have peace.” He clarified this by noting it is not the Palestinian government, but some violent groups, that are promoting violence on the Palestinian side, while, for Israel, “It is the government itself whose choice is violence.” He added, “The peace is in the hands of Israel. If we have peace, it will be thanks to Israel. If we have no peace, it is because of Israel.”