MESSAGE OF THE MINISTER GENERAL GIACOMO BINI OFM

Alleluia!

An agreement that guarantees an end to the long occupation and siege of the Nativity complex has been reached in Bethlehem, just when our Brothers of the Orthodox Church are celebrating Easter.

It is a sigh of relief for the whole Christian world, especially for our Orthodox Brothers, both Greek and Armenian, for our Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart and our confreres of our Order who had offered themselves as guarantors of safety against the threat of a possible massacre. The entire Franciscan family expresses its gratitude to the women and men of goodwill who were committed and commit themselves to peace.

We are conscious that it is a matter of only a stage along the path of reconciliation and agreement that will be long and difficult. Regret remains for the suffering, the wounds, the dead that could have been saved if only the solutions put forward a month ago had been accepted.

If every voice had been listened to!
Often it is thought to solve problems with the logic of force and power: even in this case, when only collaboration and the will to dialogue have brought about this glimmer of light that could lead to a global plan for a stable peace.

Let us never renounce a just and dignified peace for all We are all involved, we must all think so, we are all responsible for the building up of a more hospitable and human world. Each one of us can do something to impede both the terrorist blind hate, contrary to all reason and religion, and the structures that engender destructive violence, usurpation and vendettas.

Silence and indifference, especially in the area of the media of communication, can become a grave obstacle to the path of peace.

We Franciscans, who for many centuries, faithful to the command of the Church, are the custodians of the Holy Places, the treasure of the whole of Christianity, ask every woman and man of good will:
- to help us heal the wounds opened by this conflict between two peoples that possess and must live together in the same land
- to help us to rebuild a culture of co-habitation, of not being ashamed of this period "of history, which is ours, of being present without being able to prevent this tragedy"
- to help us to hope still in a peace that is possible, founded on justice and pardon.

Finally, our heart opens in gratitude for all the voices and gestures of solidarity ­ and they were many ­ that reached us from all parts of the world, from individuals and from communities.
Thanks especially to Pope John Paul II, who intervened forcibly on many occasions in favour of the besieged in the Nativity and for peace in the Holy Land.
Thanks to all the politicians, to the diplomats, to all the religious leaders that have made contact during these days and have listened to our appeal.
Thanks to the journalists from the various continents who have offered us their interest and their collaboration in the face of the tragic situation in which we found ourselves. May the Lord help you to persevere in building peace without betraying your mission to the truth.

May the sacrifice of life and the suffering of so many innocent persons of every people, religion and nation receive the gift of a true and durable peace in those places tortured by wars and violence.

Br. Giacomo Bini, ofm
Minister General

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