Fr Ibrahim: With Biden comes the ‘dawn of a new day’ for peace in the Holy Land
The Franciscan appeals to the new US president after “dark years of tears”. Dialogue must be renewed, respectful of the truth and justice. A new international political order is needed whereby disagreements do not become a pretext for “total war”. Saint Joseph and Saint Augustine are cited.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – The message of the new president of the United States, Catholic Joe Biden, on his inauguration day (20 January) is addressed to “everyone, including Palestine, which has lived through dark years of tears,” writes Fr Ibrahim Faltas, discrete of the Franciscan Custody and director of the Christian schools of the Holy Land, in a letter to the US leader.
With the possible “dawn of a new day,” the clergyman hopes that the election of a Democratic president will be “a turning point for Palestine” that sparks “renewed dialogue, respectful of the truth and justice, to find a peaceful solution” that looks to the “good of all”.
“In his words the president showed love for his land, the urgent need to intervene as soon as possible on the coronavirus emergency to save as many lives as possible,” writes the Franciscan friar.
Biden “invited everyone to pause for a few minutes of silence, to commemorate the victims of the pandemic, noting that ‘weeping can last one night, joy comes in the morning’.”
For Fr Ibrahim, the new president is not “a dreamer”, but someone whose “deep-rooted faith” stands as an “important pillar on which to build a new America”.
At the same time, he can also build “a new international political order for the sake of the future of humanity, rejecting and condemning any motive for disagreement,” which must not become a pretext for “total war”.
For this reason he has “great confidence” that the second Catholic US president in history after John Fitzgerald Kennedy can be the one who, “with the strength of his faith can resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” taking advantage of what John Paul II said, namely “If there is no peace in Jerusalem, there will never be peace in the whole world”.
The former Republican administration, under Donald Trump, privileged links to the Israelis and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose highest point was the signing of the so-called “Abraham Accords“ in mid-September.
The latter officially sanctioned diplomatic and trade relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain (and Sudan), effectively relegating the Palestinians to the margins of regional diplomacy.
“President Joseph Biden bears an important name, that of Joseph, and Pope Francis has announced that this year will be the year of Saint Joseph,” Fr Ibrahim said.
Even more important is the Pope's call to “build a new society characterised by true justice, freedom and respect for the rights and dignity of all.”
For this reason, he made “his heartfelt appeal” to stress the importance of “dialogue, staying united even with different political ideas” because only this way “can a people be built with respect and dignity for all, not only for America.”
The clergyman notes that Biden quoted Saint Augustine, who said that “every people love their land” and Americans, in particular, love opportunity, security, freedom, dignity, respect, honour and the truth.
Finally, “Let us entrust the work of President Biden to Saint Joseph,” Fr Ibrahim said; “let us urge him help humanity overcome the tragedy of the pandemic; with his paternal protection, may he help us make possible everything that seems impossible.”
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16/05/2022 19:00
02/11/2021 16:14
