Third Installment “In
Defense of Christians” Summit – Why, O Lord?
Last
night represented a turning point in the conference. At the very height of the summit, the banquet
dinner, an unfortunate event took place.
Senator Ted Cruz had been invited to give the banquet keynote address,
and he used the occasion to ask a roomful of Lebanese, Egyptians, Syrians,
Iraqis, and Palestinians to give unswerving loyalty and unquestioning support
for Israel. The senator went on to say
that if the entire room could not do this, then he could not support the
Christian communities under persecution in the Middle East or anywhere
else. Needless to say, the response was
less than warm.
It
was clear that the senator’s comments were deliberate in their meaning and in
the effect they would have. Why an
elected official would say such a thing is incomprehensible. At the same time, the organizers of the
summit should have known better than to have invited Senator Cruz to give the
keynote address at the peak of their conference. Senator Cruz has made a career out of
divisive comments designed to create division and pain. While it is laudable to hope that the senator
would behave well for the sake of protecting innocent victims of genocide, the
risk in such a gamble was too high.
No
one at this summit rejects the idea that Israel ought to exist, and that all
people should be protected from genocide.
That message has been made clear by every single speaker and religious
leader. However, we have to recognize
the fact that Israel has caused great pain to Palestinian Christians in
Bethlehem and Gaza. No one here would
suggest that this pain was caused intentionally. Certainly Israel has a right to protect
itself and provide a secure society for its people. But in so doing there have been some actions
that have caused pain to the Christian community in the Holy Land.
I
have many Jewish friends, and not one blindly defends everything the state of
Israel does. They love Israel and they
want her actions to reflect the very best of the Jewish tradition and
community. Their attitude is not unlike
most Roman Catholics who accept the pope as the successor to St. Peter and
leader of Christ’s Church while at the same time expect the actions of the Church’s
governance to reflect Gospel values and the best of the Catholic tradition, and
when actions of our church leaders do not reflect our highest values we speak
to correct and encourage our leaders to exhibit Gospel values and the example
of Jesus the Lord.
Friends
need to be honest with one another. Just
as Israel rightly reminds the Christian communities of the anti-Semitism that
has sadly existed in the Christian world, so Christians have the right to say
that while we greatly desire the existence and security of Israel, it cannot
come at the expense of Palestinian Christians.
These issues are complex and require a great deal of sensitivity and
ongoing dialogue.
Senator
Cruz exhibited neither sensitivity nor dialogue in his remarks, and the summit
has suffered greatly for it. But what is
worse, the people of the Middle East will suffer even greater because of the
senator’s words and attitudes, for they represent further inaction and
indifference to the slaughter of Christians and other people in the region. Currently, more than 4 million people are living solely off the relief aid provided by many agencies and governments. The poverty that war creates is staggering.
Our
task as the people of God is to move beyond this unfortunate scene and to
continue the fundamental mission of the Church – the mission of mercy, the
mission of reconciliation, the mission of peace and justice to all people. The following video captures better than
anything else the focus and mission:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jBJjefHEzQw
1 comment:
Very well spoken.
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