It was to be an hour of reflection, remembrance, introspection, prayer and above all tolerance. And indeed it was, with one very notable exception.
His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem chose September 11, this most horrific of days, to launch a barely disguised attack on the United States. Long known for his pro-Palestinian stance,
Sabbah is now implying that the US will be guilty of terrorism if it attacks Iraq.
Sabbah was one of some 15 eminent speakers at the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel’s Convocation of Remembrance and Hope.
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All the other participants either spoke of their disdain for what happened a year ago, or offered their prayers for the collective future of mankind.
Christians, Jews and Muslims. All but one.
“Each of us is called to search our own conscience and to ask ourselves this question,” Sabbah asked his audience. “How much am I a part of the violence and the terrorism of which I am a victim, and which today threatens all human societies… In particular… political leaders are invited to ask themselves the same question. Some seeds of terrorism can be found in every one of us.”
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(Michel Sabbah)
You may say I am reading too much into Sabbah’s words, but you must remember he was making this speech at an event honoring the lives and deaths of more than 3,000 Americans.
However, take a look at this from a December 1998 Catholic World News report: “Patriarch Sabbah also condemned the recent US and British air strikes on Iraq last week. ‘In Iraq, a whole people remains hostage to political world conflicts … We affirm that no reason whatsoever can justify and tranquilize the conscience of those who impose death upon a whole people,’ he said.”
Sabbah has made his thoughts on the West abundantly clear. “With many Arabs feeling humiliated and angry at the West, summit delegates worried about a revival of Islamic radicalism. Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah called on the summit to make clear the distance between ‘Western political powers and Christianity’,” according to a Washington Report on Middle East Affairs story on the March 1991 Vatican summit on the postwar Gulf.
The Nazareth-born Sabbah, spent his formative years with Palestinians in Bethlehem, and then served in both Jordan and Lebanon before returning to the Holy Land.
Sabbah’s critics say he uses his position to further pro-Arab causes. They look, for example, to a speech he made on December 31, 2001: “End the occupation, because the core of the conflict is this: Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands started in 1967. Give back the Palestinians their land and their freedom. With this you will give the Israeli people his security… Peace means justice to the Palestinians, justice is end of the occupation. And end of the occupation and justice are security for Israelis. Terror is caused by injustice and oppression and the prolongation of occupation. End the occupation, open Jerusalem, give peace to the land and to the people. Start a new period in the history of this land.”
A year earlier at Christmas Eve mass he told worshippers, including the Muslim Yassir Arafat: “This is our land, to claim our freedom, among our demolished houses and in our besieged towns and villages.”
Sabbah is the President of Pax Christi International, and as such has repeatedly attacked the US and its Western allies. This is part of a letter sent to British Prime Minister Tony Blair last year: “You, together with your coalition partners are engaging in aerial bombing raids and ground attacks against Afghanistan. This includes the use of cluster bombs, which have indiscriminate characteristics, the fundamental principle for banning anti-personnel landmines. These military actions have worsened an already existing humanitarian disaster and polarized religious communities throughout the world… The military aspect of your response to terrorism will not provide the security you seek but will add to the vulnerability of many people and countries of our world.”
While the ICCI event was beautifully organized and inspired the large audience, one wonders if the organizers are retrospectively asking themselves whether the invite to Sabbah was a wise move.
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(Michel Sabbah and other religious leaders honoring America’s dead.)