The sum of one million euros collected from members of the dioceses of Munich, Regensburg and Passau during the visit of Benedict XVI in September, will be donated in the pope’s name to the Custodian of the Holy Land for the construction of a new pastoral centre measuring 30 square metres in Nazareth, near the Basilica of the Annunciation. This was revealed in a statement by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” that was issued today by the Holy See press office.
The statement said the President of the Council, Mgr Josef Cordes, is currently in the Holy Land, where he will stay until 19 December “to testify to the spiritual nearness of the Holy Father to Christian communities there” and to deliver the funds that will pave the way for the construction of the new centre.
The building will be situated in an area measuring more than 30 square metres and will include areas for youth and for families apart from accommodation, meeting rooms, rooms for catechism, classrooms and a sports ground. The statement said: “It will truly be a centre of life and activity for Christians and a point of reference for pilgrims.” Through Mgr Cordes, the pope expressed to Christians in Nazareth the hope that “together with Christians of the Holy Land, they may thus feel the closeness and encouragement of all the people of God to maintain their presence in the land of Jesus and to build a culture of love notwithstanding prevalent difficulties and adversities.”
Related: more on the Pope’s meeting with Prime Minister Olmert yesterday:
Oded Ben-Hur, the Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, told Catholic News Service that the pope spoke about "the difficult situation of the Christian community in Bethlehem."
"The prime minister promised to do everything possible to alleviate" the community’s suffering and to ease Christians’ access to Bethlehem over the Christmas holidays, the ambassador said.
The Vatican’s Dec. 13 statement also said the pope and prime minister spoke about peace in the Middle East.
Ben-Hur said Pope Benedict thanked the prime minister for Israeli’s declaration of a cease-fire with Palestinian militias, although Ben-Hur said the prime minister said it is getting more and more difficult "to withhold reactions" to missiles being launched into Israel from Gaza.
Ben-Hur said that when Olmert renewed a government invitation for the pope to visit Israel, the pope said he really wanted to make such a trip, but was looking for "a moment of calm."
"The prime minister told him, ‘You can bring the calm,’" the ambassador said.
Pope Benedict and Olmert met as Vatican and Israeli government representatives were scheduled to meet in Jerusalem to continue on-again, off-again negotiations regarding the legal and tax status of the Catholic Church and its institutions in Israel.
Ben-Hur said Olmert told the pope he had instructed the Israeli negotiators "to make every effort to finalize the agreements."
The meeting also came one day after the Vatican issued a strong statement in opposition to the Iranian government’s Dec. 11-12 conference questioning whether the Holocaust took place.
Telling the pope he was "the world’s most revered moral voice," Olmert asked the pope to denounce anti-Semitism in general and the Iran conference specifically, Ben-Hur said.
Pope Benedict told the prime minister the Vatican had issued a statement Dec. 12, but said he was willing to add to the statement or clarify it if the prime minister felt it would make the Vatican’s position even more clear, the ambassador said.
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