Foto: Latin Patriarchate Road
The Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals was held on Saturday the 30th September in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis, amongst the 21 cardinals, created Cardinal His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The OFM Communications Office interviewed him a few days before the Consistory.
As a Franciscan, how do you feel about receiving this new service?
After the initial surprise, I tried to understand what this meant, and little by little I am understanding it from the reactions of my church in Jerusalem, of the other sister churches with which we have good relations and, more generally, of the various communities that make up the complex and varied society of our diocese, Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians and Cypriots. They are all very happy with this choice. This made me understand that you shouldn't look at yourself, at your position. Rather, this new service enables us to grow in relationships between the various communities, to be aware of having to also be a clear voice in the world for all these brothers and sisters of ours, learning to listen more and more to our territory and its communities, to serve it, love it, but also guide it.
What significance does your nomination have for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem?
For the Patriarchate it is a great encouragement. Jerusalem is the heart of the life of the world, and yet in a certain sense, it is also its periphery. We live in a border that is not only geographical, but also cultural and religious, always a harbinger of political and religious tensions, which are still creating deep wounds in the lives of these populations, especially the Palestinian one, thirsty for justice and dignity, with enormous economic and social inequalities. The choice of Pope Francis, of whom everyone - as I was saying - is proud, has strengthened the spirit in the community. We feel even more strongly the mandate to be witnesses of the Risen One in this wounded land, working with everyone to build contexts of peace.
What is your message to the Christian community in the Middle East?
We have lived through some very difficult years. I have just returned from Syria, having participated in the episcopal consecration of our brother fr. Hanna Jallouf. I encountered a prostrate, tired country, where it is really difficult to have trust. If Syria's situation is extreme, the situation in other countries is also serious, from every point of view.
I tell them that we have no right to give up. These situations must encourage us to work more together, to have the courage - for once - to put aside our always too many divisions and jealousies. We have the duty to place beautiful signs of encounter, collaboration and resilience in our respective territories. Only in this way will we be able to rebuild some trust, which is desperately needed.
Too often our reflections and analysis start from the even serious problems we experience! Instead, we must start from our vocation as children of the Risen One, and realize it despite everything. In other words, we should not put our own pain at the centre of our perspectives, because this risks closing us in on ourselves and extinguishing us little by little. At the centre of our search should be instead the desire for life, which arises only and exclusively from the encounter with the Risen One. Only in this way will we be able to speak credibly about hope. What are we Christians of the Holy Land and the Middle East called to do? What is our specific vocation, here and now? What does the Lord call us to do? How can we express the beauty of our vocation in these torn contexts of ours? Too often our small or large fears block our ability to love and are at the origin of our omissions. Instead we should desire to challenge others in love. There is no other way.
Can you give a message to the friars around the world?
Continue to be a simple and presence of light in the life of the Church, close to the people, which is being close to Christ. The world will always need those who, with a simple and beautiful, poor and happy life, know how to bring a word that reaches the heart, especially for those who are thirsty and hungry for justice, for truth, for something that goes beyond material life.
The world still needs Saint Francis, his radical love for Christ, which then translates into an equally radical love for the life of the world, without the need of making too many calculations.
Br. Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General, was present at the Consistory in St. Peter's, and commented on the event as follows: “St. Francis in the Rule asks the friars to always remain in communion with the Church of Rome and therefore with the entire Church. We achieve this above all by living our vocation as brothers and minors, without seeking honours and being amongst the first places. We can read in the choice of our brother amongst the Pope's closest collaborators from this perspective of service, so as to bring our vocation to be the servants of all to the highest level of the Church. We know that it is not easy for anyone and for this reason it requires continuous purification. Therefore for our Order, before being a great honour, having another cardinal represents a responsibility to live our vocation in communion with the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, for the good of the whole Body of the Church”.
When asked how this title can help the Holy Land, Br. Massimo replied: “The choice of Br. Pierbattista, who to-day is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and who has lived in that blessed Land for more than thirty years, is a great sign for the Holy places, for the Church that lives there and also for the Order, in its 800-year service in the Custody of the Holy Places. I believe that the Holy Father thus wanted to offer a word of encouragement to the Mother Church of Jerusalem, increasingly reduced in numbers, yet firm in its desire to bear witness to the Gospel and remind all the Churches of the world that our roots are in Jerusalem , in the Holy Land. We therefore welcome this nomination as a renewed call to be present in the Holy Land, to support and qualify what is the first, the "pearl" of the Order's missions”.
