Paul KeenanVatican Gardens host peace gathering
“We are here because we know we need the help of God.” This was the message delivered by Pope Francis during the much anticipated June 8 prayer for peace by Middle East leaders at the Vatican.
Having accepted the Pontiff’s invitation to the event during his official visit to the Holy Land, Israel’s President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined with Pope Francis in what is hoped will serve as a peacebuilding ‘prompt’ for sides currently divided amid stalled peace talks.
The main participants were joined in the prayer event by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, custos of the Holy Land.
“More than once we have been on the verge of peace,” Pope Francis told the group as they prayed together in the Vatican Gardens, “but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in blocking it. That is why we are here, because we know and we believe that we need the help of God.
“We have heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word ‘brother’. But to be able to utter this word we have to lift our eyes to Heaven and acknowledge one another as children of one Father”.
For his part, the Israeli leader said: “I shall never stop to act for peace for the generations to come. Let’s all of us join hands and make it happen.”
President Abbas stated: “We want peace for us and for our neighbours. We seek prosperity and peace of mind for ourselves and for others alike.”
The ceremony was concluded when all participants added soil to a newly planted olive tree in the Vatican Gardens to serve as a memorial to the effort for peace.