POPE BENEDICT XVl: "WORLD PEACE IS A DIVINE GIFT"
(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
Today, January 1st has been declared World Day of Peace. Peace is a 'divine gift' according to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVl...
It will only become a reality if his words are heeded and not shoved aside by those that profit by war.... it can happen if we all work together.... Christians, Muslims, Jews and those of all other faiths.... the 'family of man'.
Let us all forge together to a New World Order in 2008!
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI opened the New Year on Tuesday with an appeal for world peace, calling it a "divine gift" and stressing the role of family as the foundation for it.
The Catholic Church celebrates January 1 as its World Day of Peace, and during a midmorning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope called for "the gift of peace: for our families, our cities and the whole world.
"We all aspire to leave in peace, but real peace ... is not the simple conquest of man or the result of political agreements: it is above all a divine gift," Benedict said.
At the same time, the pope added, peace is a "commitment that must be pursued with patience."
Benedict also returned to a theme that has been central to his papacy when he spoke of the importance of the traditional family based on the marriage between man and woman.
Muslims and Christians of Gaza Strip make an appeal to the Pope
Urgent appeal to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
"From the land of prophets, peace and blessings and from the besieged Gaza we send you our heartfelt greetings as well as toward all Christians around the globe. On behalf of the besieged, poor and simple people of the Gaza Strip, we pass on our greetings on the occasion of Christmas. We aspire from our only God to bring security and peace to all nations in this world.
To His Holiness the Pope,
We address His Holiness in honour of your vital religious roles, effective actions and echoing sermons. We address and urge His Holiness on behalf of Palestinians, especially the besieged Gazans who live under a devilish siege imposed by Israelis, to intervene without delay. Israeli occupation has imposed comprehensive siege in which all crossing points and terminals are closed, preventing people from moving in and outside the Gaza Strip.
Serious ramifications have resulted from this illegal siege and flagrant violations of human rights laws have been committed. People are not allowed to obtain medicine or travel abroad for treatment! Basic medical devices are out of order now and Israelis have forbidden the entry of spare parts into Gaza, causing more health complications for patients. So far, 51 patients have died due to Israeli closure and medications shortage. Additionally, more than 1,500 are about to encounter imminent death for the same reason and other patients are exposed to further deterioration of their health, including people who suffer from chronic illness, infants and the elderly.
In addition to that, projects of infrastructure, building and development have been stopped! All raw materials needed in these projects are prevented from entering the Gaza Strip. Moreover, more than 3,900 factories and industrial enterprises have shut down, which resulted in leaving 140,000 unemployed! Poverty rates have reached incredible levels pushing more people under the poverty line and towards misery and bringing about a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Thus, we appeal to His Holiness to hear and eases off our pains, sufferings and ordeals caused by occupation. We appeal to you to intervene by your sermons that touch hearts and consciences and call for ending this siege. This siege is an obvious violation against human rights laws, Geneva conventions and all international human charters.
We aspire in God and You, a just word of wisdom and support for our just Palestinian cause.
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas.
With all respect,
Pastor of Latin sect in the Gaza Strip,
Manuel Musalam &
Popular Committee Against Siege Chairman,
Independent Parliamentarian in Gaza Strip,
Jamal N. El Khoudary"
posted by Desert Peace @ 4:57 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
If “His Holiness”, Pope Benedict XVI truly desires world peace – particularly in the “Holy Land” – he needs to do far more than declare one DAY as “World Peace Day”, he needs to take some serious actions that will yield change.
First and foremost, Christians around the world must be called upon to re-examine the phenomenon of “Evangelical Zionism” (especially as represented by such adherents as John Hagee and others) which does not allow for any peaceful resolution to the plight of the Palestinians. There are some Evangelical Zionists who believe, rather erroneously, that it is the will of God that the current events we are experiencing must proceed – and get worse – before we can experience the return of the Lord. Unfortunately, while I share the faith, the gross misinterpretation of the eschatological timelines – not to mention the rampant use of prophetic scriptures out of context – makes these ministers sound more like followers of Nostradamus or believers in the Mayan calendar (which, ending on Dec. 21, 2012, has become one of the “pointers” to the “end” … or, it could be that an EXTINCT people didn’t find a NEED to UPDATE their DAY-PLANNER).
There is a difference between not being anti-Semitic, which is something Christians should not be, and supporting a state that is racist, xenophobic, and moving towards the establishment of the Fourth Reich – modelled after the most brutal political regime to have ever inhabited the twentieth century. Christians owe their very existence to the Jews, spiritually the Christian claims to be grafted onto the vine represented by the Abrahamic covenant which was re-established through the blood of Jesus, but that does NOT mean that it is necessary to blindly follow every move made by a state acting without a moral compass.
If the Pope wants there to be peace in the Holy Land he must declare that Christian Pilgrimages are UNChristian: there is nothing in the New Testament that directs us to visit, view, bow down to, venerate, pay homage to, or any variation thereof to any shrine/statue/site anywhere; period. The “holy” sites in Israel are the most insane – and contentious – excuses for Christians to go to a place that they have no business being, save to fulfill the scripture pertaining to the time where “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” This is from Luke 21:24, NKJV, referring to the time just before the return of Messiah at the end of “Jacobs trouble”, prophesied in the Book of Daniel [9:27] and the coming judgement – the “time of the Gentiles” referring to the time when those who are “separated from God” because of their association with the Anti-Christ.
By calling for a world boycott against Israel – and companies that support or do significant business with Israel – the Pope would be telling the world that we are serious about peace, and about human rights. The message would be clear, unlike the message that was given by the Pope during the Second World War, when the Roman Church served their own needs first, allowing the innocents to go to the ovens.
Israel has learned well from the apathy of the Romans – from the modern ones and the ancients – rather than turning towards the obvious, that there is only one path towards peace and peace is that path, Israel has chosen to pursue the commandment that God issued before the children of Israel took possession of the land … in the time of Solomon. Unfortunately, it is too late for this path; this is the problem with being disobedient: when you make a choice you must live with the ramifications of that choice, you cannot go back in time and take the road not taken.
My family was not happy when I became a Christian, and nineteen years after that decision I’m sure that opinion hasn’t changed much – but at least we have established a dialogue and are able to talk about anything and everything – sometimes even spiritual issues. We disagree, but that is fine … as it is written, “honour thy father and thy mother” – by not proselytizing, or preaching to them, we are able to get along just fine. This does not change the fact, however, that I was born – and raised (culturally) as a Jew – and still very much feel as such, particularly when I experience the fruits of my genetic encoding – anti-Semitism.
While I have only set foot in a Synagogue once in my life there is no doubt that the ignorant slobs that have attacked me could care less – a Jew is a Jew is a Jew … just as we were 70 years ago at the beginning of the Holocaust. By perpetrating the same treatment against another people for the simple reason that they are of a particular ethnic group demonstrates that the current State of Israel has nothing in common with that which was described in the Bible (OT or NT). I have every confidence that the “dispensation of grace” spoken of by the evangelical Zionists shall not be running out as quickly as they predict (within a generation of the capture of Jerusalem, based on the scriptures in Matthew and other NT scriptures) for the simple reason that the current State of Israel is NOT the Israel that God desires – this Israel is a counterfeit, a cruel parody of the genuine that cannot stand up to the litmus test.
When the people can live side by side in peace, without regard of their race, religion, or any other difference, THAT generation shall see the glorious return of the Lord …. as you may imagine, I’m not holding my breath – it isn’t a lack of faith in God, but the confidence that the brutality of the people alive today will prevent this from happening (forty years to cross the desert when it could have taken eleven days … should have taken eighty years … perhaps one-hundred and sixteen … then they would have been more obedient? Perhaps not.).
Thus it has been said; let it be done.
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