The best ideas are common property
No. 17 of 47. First published 5 Dec 2007. From the Franciscans we went by bus to that other esteemed humanitarian order, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), situated in West Jerusalem. We were expecting an intensive briefing on the situation on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza, …
Continue reading "Palestinian humanitarian briefing (UNOCHA)"
No. 16 of 47. First published 5 Dec 2007. Our second official meeting today (5 December 2007) was with Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, at his residence in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. Like His Beatitude Theophilos III, Fr Pizzaballa expressed concern for the Holy Places of Jerusalem, and …
No. 15 of 47. First published 5 Dec 2007. Today was, for me, intellectually enriching but psychologically exhausting as our delegation listened to the perspectives of various key players addressing conflict in the Israel-Palestinian community. So much took place today that it will take several blog posts to do justice to what we learned. Our …
Continue reading "Meeting the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem"
No. 14 of 47. First published 4 Dec 2007. This morning there were no formal responsibilities. For me, the day started with BBC World News and a scan of the Australian newspapers online. At 8.00 am we had our usual fullsome buffet breakfast (I had a modest continental breakfast followed by an immodest hot breakfast, …
No. 13 of 47. First published 4 Dec 2007. On Tuesday 4 December, following our meeting with His Excellency Msgr Antonio Franco, we literally walked up the street from our hotel to an audience with Bishop Fouad Twal, the soon-to-be Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 2008 he will take on the primary responsibility for his church …
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