Pave The Way Foundation | Pave the Way Foundation

Improving Vatican Israeli Relations

by Pave The Way Foundation | Nov 1, 2012 | Peace

When diplomatic relations began with Israel on Dec 30, 1993, a few important issues were never settled and remain outstanding today. Improved relations with the Holy See, will have enormous benefits to Israel, both economically and politically. Better communication will also assure that this relationship will continue into the next Papacy. Through recurrent, ongoing meetings with Father David Jaeger, spokesperson for the Franciscan Custody and legal representative of the Holy See in Israel, and Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio and Papal Delegate for the Holy See in Israel and the Holy Land, we have been able to focus on specific, problematic issues between Israel and the Vatican.

Several problems have been identified, which the Vatican would like to resolve in order to further this cordial relationship. Similarly, Pave the Way has raised a number of issues to the Israeli government’s attention, which were easily rectified. For example, the issuance of Christian visas and other low level restrictions on travel in Israel and the territories, which hampered the resurgence of Christian pilgrimages, have been successfully addressed.

PTWF also acted immediately when behind the scenes obstacles were hampering advancement of the bilateral negotiations. We are proud to have been acknowledged as the one organization which acted decisively in order to keep these negotiations on track. We continue to monitor progress as an outside interested party, in order to see these problems resolved.

We have pledged the support and action of Pave the Way to further normalize this relationship. In encouraging and supporting productive relations between Israel and the Vatican we hope to establish a major cooperative liaison, resulting in broad cultural exchanges of artifacts between both Israel and the Vatican. Pave the Way continues to address unresolved issues, which remain open from the original negotiations and agreement from the 1993 accords.

Further reference material:

Improving Relations Within the Orthodox Church

by Pave The Way Foundation | Oct 30, 2012 | Peace

PTWF is exploring the notion of removing historic obstacles between those within the same faith. We are exploring historic projects that will “pave the way” to improve relations between good people of all religions.

Picture above: PTWF with the Syrian and Russian Orthodox Churches.

Gary Krupp and Bennett Solberg of PTWF meet with the Ukrainian Archbishop of the United States H.Em. Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos.

Gary and Meredith Krupp meeting in Macedonia with Stefan Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and with H.E. Agatangel, Metropolitan of Povardarie and H.E. Pimen, Metropolitan of Europe.

SUCCESS:

Meeting with the representatives of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece in Athens, Greece. Fr. Stephen Arrnides Archimandrite Fr.Gabriel Papanikolaou.

Meeting with Theophilos III Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

PTWF meeting with Bishop Christomos and Nebojsa Topolic of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Meeting with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

by Pave The Way Foundation | Oct 28, 2012 | Peace

Our meeting with Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was extremely productive. We discussed the WASATIA Initiative for peace in the Holy Land. This organization is taking a real position on creating a genuine peace between Palestine and the State of Israel by acknowledging the Israeli right to exist in peace. WASATIA concentrates its’ efforts on building a transparent infrastructure and respecting the three faiths of Abraham. Muslims must base their faith on the true message of Islam devoid of corruption and extremist activity.

Below PTWF gave the Mufti a book outlining the principles of WASATIA. Mohammed and Munther Dajani, founders of WASATIA, are concentrating their efforts on educating young Palestinians about tolerance.

Islam accords special status to Judaism and Christianity, categorically calling their adherents, “Ahl al-Kitab” (People of the Book.) It identifies itself with the People of the Book as the “Abrahamic family” within the Semitic Tradition (Hanifiyyah), the tradition of Abraham, who is recognized as the father of the three Semitic religions. Each of these religions has its book. That is, they are subject to a revelation sent down by God. They know what is right and what is wrong, what is lawful and what is unlawful. They love and revere God’s prophets and they know that they are ultimately accountable to God. This shows that Muslims and the People of the Book, share a divine legacy, a historical tradition of mutual co-existence, and a spirit of kinship and togetherness.

Problem Solving

by Pave The Way Foundation | Oct 27, 2012 | Peace

Eliminating problems and misunderstandings between the religions and governmental entities is enormously important. Too many times, erroneous and inflammatory press reports have created artificial obstacles. When there are genuine disagreements, problems created by those with differing goals and agendas makes matters worse.

Pave the Way remains diligent in countering erroneous press reports, by responding immediately, eliminating questionable policy or clarifying specific issues.

For example, an unauthorized policy was put into place, demanding that anyone wishing to enter the Palestinian territories must have written authorization from the Israeli government. A handout was given to all newly arriving tourists. PTWF was notified that this policy had the potential to create a major clash between religions and further depress the already decimated tourism industry. We inquired with the Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben-Hur, and he acted immediately to remove this potentially damaging policy.

Ben Gurion Handout (PDF)

A change in the ministry of the Interior of Israel, caused a temporary backlog of visa renewals. PTWF was contacted about some very damaging press reports in Italy. The reports claimed that none of the Catholic caretaker visas were being renewed in Israel. It further stated that the caretakers were all subject to arrest and expulsion. PTWF immediately contacted The Ministry of the Interior, and alerted him to this press report. An emergency session of the Ministry was called and 50% of the visas were renewed within 2 weeks, thus addressing the problem head on, and acting to end it.

The First Alexandria Declaration of The Religious Leaders of the Holy Land

by Pave The Way Foundation | Oct 26, 2012 | Peace

January 21, 2002. In the Name of God who is Almighty, Merciful and Compassionate, we, who have gathered as religious leaders from the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities, pray for true peace in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and declare our commitment to ending the violence and bloodshed that denies the right to life and dignity.

According to our faith traditions, killing innocents in the name of God is a desecration of his Holy Name, and defames religion in the world. The violence in the Holy Land is an evil which must be opposed by all people of good faith. We seek to live together as neighbors, respecting the integrity of each other’s historical and religious inheritance. We call upon all to oppose incitement, hatred and the misrepresentation of the other.

The Holy Land is Holy to all three of our faiths. Therefore, followers of the divine religions must respect its sanctity, and bloodshed must not be allowed to pollute it. The sanctity and integrity of the Holy Places must be preserved, and freedom of religious worship must be ensured for all.Palestinians and Israelis must respect the divinely ordained purposes of the Creator by whose grace they live in the same land that is called Holy.We call on the political leaders of both parties to work for a just, secure and durable solution in the spirit of the words of the Almighty and the Prophets.As a first step now, we call for a religiously sanctioned cease-fire, respected and observed on all sides, and for the implementation of the Mitchell and Tenet recommendations, including the lifting of restrictions and a return to negotiations.We seek to help create an atmosphere where present and future generations will co-exist with mutual respect and trust in the other. We call on all to refrain from incitement and demonization, and to educate our future generations accordingly.As religious leaders, we pledge ourselves to continue a joint quest for a just peace that leads to reconciliation in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, for the common good of all our peoples.We announce the establishment of a permanent joint committee to carry out the recommendations of this declaration, and to engage with our respective political leadership accordingly.

Delegates: