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Jerusalem and
Christianity |
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Christians in
Santiago, Chile Offer Solidarity and Strong Support to Palestinian
Christians
Santiago, Chile's Christians came together last week to offer their
solidarity to Holy Land Christians and to welcome a delegation from
the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF). Sir Rateb
Rabie, HCEF President; George Ghattas, HCEF Country Representative,
Palestine; and Father Khalil Jaar, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
met with representatives of the Chilean government, the various
church authorities in the city, and the local Palestinian community
which boasts 350,000 Palestinian Christians (almost three times the
number of Palestinian Christians remaining in Palestine!).
The Secretary General to the President of Chile, Mr. Francisco
Huichumilla, and Mr. Carlos Portales, Director of Foreign Politics
of the Foreign Ministry, hosted the delegation for meetings. After
the HCEF delegation explained the living condition of the
Palestinians who live under the Israeli occupation, Mr. Huichumilla
and Mr. Portales assured the delegation that their intent is to do
whatever they can to contribute to a just peace in the region and,
in particular, to assist the Christians of the Holy Land so that
they are able to continue the 2,000 tradition of being living
witnesses of the Gospel.
In addition, the Vatican's representative to Chile, Apostolic Nuncio
H.E. Ald Cavalli, the Antiochian Orthodox Bishop Sergio Abad, the
Roman Catholic Bishop Ricardo Ezzati, and several representatives of
FRAEACH (Fraternidad Ecumenica De Chile, an ecumenical organization
of lay people and clergy) each spent time with the HCEF delegation
in order to ascertain how they can most effectively reach out to
their brothers and sisters in the Holy Land in a way that is
ecumenical and efficient. These church leaders agreed that HCEF is
the best means for them to unite in their efforts to help preserve
Christianity in the Holy Land, and they began their work by holding
an ecumenical service for peace in the Holy Land at the Antiochian
Orthodox Church. The service was attended by more than 200 local
Christians.
The Palestino Fundación (PF) organized the entire series of meetings
and programs for the HCEF delegation. Mario Nazal, PF Director; Jose
Said, PF President; and Alberto Kassis, PF Director General, have
committed to continuing their work in organizing the Palestinian
Christians of Santiago to work with HCEF's programs and to help
Santiago's church leaders to organize an active local committee for
the Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN).
To solidify the connections with the Chilean Palestinian Christians,
the HCEF delegation made a presentation to a group of 175
Palestinian Christians at a local Palestinian Club. The delegation
also met with local Syrian and Palestinian business people to
discuss ways that HCEF is helping to connect Christians in the West
to assist with development projects and job creation projects that
HCEF supports in the Holy Land.
HCEF President, Rateb Rabie, says, "The visit with the Christians of
Santiago have had opened new dimensions for HCEF's work. We are very
excited about the dedication of the Palestinian Christians leaders
in Santiago and all that they have done to introduce our work to the
community. They have been instrumental in creating a consciousness
about the dire situation of our Mother Church
Newspaper, television, and radio media all took advantage of All the
Christians the HCEF delegation's presence, conducting interviews and
providing strong coverage of the HCEF events with local political
and religious leaders. His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem, has been invited to the region, and plans
are in place for the next HCEF visit and the expansion of the ad hoc
committees into a structured HCSN Committee. For more information
about how to participate in the formation of this new committee,
please contact HCEF directly or contact the HCEF local coordinator
in Santiago, Mr. Jamil Nazal at jamilnazzal@vtr.net.
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