DAILY CATHOLIC    TUESDAY     November 23, 1999     vol. 10, no. 222

NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

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HOLY LAND CHURCHES CLOSE IN PROTEST

        BETHLEHEM (CWNews.com) - Christian leaders locked the doors of churches throughout the Holy Land on Monday, the start of a two-day protest against the construction of an Islamic mosque on disputed land next the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

        Christians and Muslims had argued, sometimes violently, over the land in Nazareth with Christians claiming it as their own and wanting to build a plaza to accommodate pilgrims and Muslims declaring the land belonged to them and planning a huge mosque on the site. Israel's government stepped into the debate earlier this year and gave most of the site to the Muslims, allowing them to build a smaller mosque.

        "We were obliged to close our churches to make our voice heard," said Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. Israel called the church closures lamentable and issued assurances it was committed to protecting Christian interests. But Patriarch Sabbah told a news conference: "If the Israeli government had been interested in the good of (Nazareth) and its people, it would have stopped this ordeal. It should have intervened two years ago."

        Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had asked Christian leaders not to include churches in areas under Palestinian control under the ban because of its expected impact on tourism. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah called Arafat on Monday and offered to pay to build the mosque on a different site "in order to enhance Islamic-Christian brotherhood," the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. It said Arafat welcomed the move.


Articles provided through Catholic World News and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and International Dossiers, Daily Dispatches and Features at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

November 23, 1999       volume 10, no. 222
NEWS & VIEWS

DAILY CATHOLIC

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