Catholic Church condemns 'price-tag' attack on monastery, urges Israel to change 'culture of contempt'
Statement by top clerics, including Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch, urges authorities to apprehend those responsible; Netanyahu: Israel will punish perpetrators severely.
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A catholic monk standing in a
doorway of the Latrun Trappist Monastery where vandals spray-painted
anti-Christian and pro-settler graffiti, Sept. 4, 2012.
Photo by AP
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The Catholic Church condemned the so-called "price-tag" attack
against an Christians monastery on Tuesday, with high-ranking church
offices denouncing the "teaching of contempt" against Christians
prevalent in Israeli society.
Earlier Tuesday, the door of a Christian monastery in Latrun, the
Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Sept-Douleurs, near Jerusalem, was set on fire
on morning and anti-Christian slogans were found spray-painted on the
monastery's walls.
The arson and graffiti are suspected to be a “price tag” attack,
following the recent evacuation of Migron, a settlement outpost in the
West Bank.
Monks residing at the monastery noticed the burning door on Tuesday
morning, and called police after extinguishing the flames. Graffiti
sprayed on the monastery walls included the words “Migron,” and “Jesus
is a monkey.”
In a statement released later in the day and signed, among others, by
the Latin Patriarch for Jerusalem Fouad Twal and Gerogio Lingua,
Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan, and former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah,
the Catholic Church severely condemned the attack, saying it was the
results of an Israeli tendency to scapegoat Christians.
"The Christian community awoke this morning… to discover with horror
that once again it is the target of forces of hatred within Israeli
society," the missive said, adding "what happened in Latrun is only
another in a long series of attacks against Christians and their places
of worship."
Further on, the statement asked: "What is going on in Israeli society
today that permits Christians to be scapegoat and targeted by these acts
of violence?," questioning why the unknown assialtants chose to " vent"
their anger over the dismantling of West Bank outposts "against
Christians and Christian places of worship?"
"What kind of 'teaching of contempt' for Christians is being
communicated in their schools and in their homes? And why are the
culprits not found and brought to justice?" the statement asked, urging
Israeli "authorities to act to put an end to this senseless violence and
to ensure a 'teaching of respect' in schools for all those who call
this land home."
The Church's condemnation was followed by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's denouncement of the act, saying in a statement earlier in
the day that that attack was "a criminal act" and that "those
responsible for it must be severely punished."
As published online at Haaretz.com, 4 September 2012
Labels: Christianity, Conflict, Crime, Israel, Justice
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, September 04, 2012
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