While we in the United States were devastated by the recent shooting of 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, there has also been continuing violence in the Holy Land.
A Catholic News Service (CNS) article published on October 29 said Holy Land Church leaders expressed concern in the wake of recent incidents involving the Christian community.
Easter is early this year (Sunday, April 1), so we will soon be starting Holy Week on Palm Sunday, March 25.
At this time, our thoughts and prayers turn to what happened in Jerusalem during Our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.
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| Robert Enright and Msgr. John Hebl |
Seventh in a series of seven articles on forgiveness.
This final forgiveness essay is a collaboration of both writers. Previously we discussed what it means and what it does not mean to forgive others; how one goes about forgiving; how forgiveness is viewed within the Catholic faith; and how it appears within schools and families.
Today, in conclusion, we will examine how forgiving might be planted for good in our communities.
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| Dr. Robert Enright |
MADISON — The Jubilee Year of Mercy may have concluded, but its emphasis on forgiveness will continue in a unique international conference to be held in Jerusalem next summer.
The International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) headquartered in Madison has been asked to organize the Jerusalem Conference on Forgiveness for Peace, which will be held on July 12 and 13, 2017, at the Pontifical Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center.
“To my knowledge, there has never been an international conference on person-to-person forgiveness in the Middle East,” said Dr. Robert Enright, professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founding board member of the International Forgiveness Institute.
He is a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Monona.
He explained that the first day of this two-day conference will concern interfaith dialogue among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim experts discussing what the term “to forgive” means within their own belief system and how that knowledge of forgiveness can be used to enhance and deepen interfaith dialogue.
Internationally known speakers who have agreed to participate include Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, this year’s recipient of the Templeton Prize; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila in the Philippines and president of Caritas International; and Dr. Mustafa Ceric, grand mufti emeritus of Bosnia.
“All are world-renowned within their own faith communities,” said Dr. Enright.
The second day of the conference will focus on forgiveness education with educators from Belfast, Athens, Lebanon,the U.S., and the Galilee or Jerusalem areas discussing how they implement forgiveness education for children and adolescents.
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Recently I emailed questions to the auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Bishop William Shomali, asking him to share his first-hand insights regarding the many injustices and violent environment in the land of the Prince of Peace. He sent back a recorded audio response upon which this column is based.
Bishop Shomali said one of the most pressing problems facing Palestinians is Israeli-imposed restrictions on movement. For example, he said Palestinians living in Bethlehem or Ramallah need to obtain a permit to go just six miles to Jerusalem. And permits are only given during principle feasts. He said the ongoing illegal building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the Occupied Territories is an extremely serious roadblock to a peaceful solution.
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Editor’s note: George Weigel wrote this column from Jerusalem.
Walking through the narrow, winding streets of Jerusalems Old City on my first visit here in 15 years, I was powerfully struck once again by the grittiness of Christianity, the palpable connection between the faith and the quotidian realities of life.
For here, as in no other place, the believer, the skeptic, and the “searcher” are confronted with a fact: Christianity began, not with a pious story or “narrative,” but with the reality of transformed lives.
As we prepare to begin Holy Week, our thoughts and prayers turn to what happened in Jerusalem during Our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.
We will be reliving the events of that week during the liturgies of Holy Week in our churches. It is a special time for us as Christians, and hopefully we will attend as many services as we can.
During Holy Week, we may envision what happened in Jerusalem: Jesus’ triumphal arrival with palms waving, his last supper with his apostles, his suffering and death on a cross. We may see these events as part of history, viewing them almost with a sense of nostalgia.
However, our faith makes us realize that these events are not only in the past. We reenact them every year — and every day of our lives — as we journey with Jesus in the triumphs, crosses, deaths, and resurrections we face.
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There were a number of reasons why I liked World War Z, the film based on Max Brooks’ book of the same name.
First, it was a competently made thriller and not simply a stringing together of whiz-bang CGI effects. Secondly, it presented a positive image of a father.
In a time when Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin are the norm for fatherhood in the popular culture, Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry Lane, is actually a man of intelligence, deep compassion, and self-sacrificing courage.
But what intrigued me the most about World War Z is how it provides a template for thinking seriously about sin and salvation.
Pope Francis has again surprised the world by inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to join him at the Vatican to pray together for peace. The event has been scheduled for Sunday, June 8.
The pope announced his invitation to Abbas on May 25 at the end of the Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Later the same day, Pope Francis repeated his invitation — using the same words — to Peres after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Pope Francis has urged the two leaders to stay on the path of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. There is “simply no other way,” the Holy Father said.
Pope Francis has again surprised the world by inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to join him at the Vatican to pray together for peace. The event has been scheduled for Sunday, June 8.
The pope announced his invitation to Abbas on May 25 at the end of the Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Later the same day, Pope Francis repeated his invitation — using the same words — to Peres after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Pope Francis has urged the two leaders to stay on the path of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. There is “simply no other way,” the Holy Father said.
