Pope's Farewell Address to the Holy Land
"We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our
history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to
building bridges of lasting friendship."
TEL AVIV, MAY 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).-
Here is the text of the farewell address Benedict XVI gave at Tel
Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, before boarding a plane to
return to Rome.
* * *
Mr. President,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As
I prepare to return to Rome, may I share with you some of the powerful
impressions that my pilgrimage to the Holy Land has left with me. I had
fruitful discussions with the civil authorities both in Israel and in
the Palestinian Territories, and I witnessed the great efforts that
both governments are making to secure people's well-being. I have met
the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and I rejoice to
see the way that they work together in caring for the Lord's flock. I
have also had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the various
Christian Churches and ecclesial communities as well as the leaders of
other religions in the Holy Land. This land is indeed a fertile ground
for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, and I pray that the rich
variety of religious witness in the region will bear fruit in a growing
mutual understanding and respect.
 Mr. President, you and I
planted an olive tree at your residence on the day that I arrived in
Israel. The olive tree, as you know, is an image used by Saint Paul to
describe the very close relations between Christians and Jews. Paul
describes in his Letter to the Romans how the Church of the Gentiles is
like a wild olive shoot, grafted onto the cultivated olive tree which
is the People of the Covenant (cf. 11:17-24). We are nourished from the
same spiritual roots. We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our
history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to
building bridges of lasting friendship.
The ceremony at the
Presidential Palace was followed by one of the most solemn moments of
my stay in Israel -- my visit to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem
to pay my respects to the victims of the Shoah. There I also met some
of the survivors. Those deeply moving encounters brought back memories
of my visit three years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so
many Jews -- mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters,
brothers, sisters, friends -- were brutally exterminated under a
godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred.
That appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied. On
the contrary, those dark memories should strengthen our determination
to draw closer to one another as branches of the same olive tree,
nourished from the same roots and united in brotherly love.
Mr.
President, I thank you for the warmth of your hospitality, which is
greatly appreciated, and I wish to put on record that I came to visit
this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the
Palestinian people. Friends enjoy spending time in one another's
company, and they find it deeply distressing to see one another suffer.
No friend of the Israelis and the Palestinians can fail to be saddened
by the continuing tension between your two peoples. No friend can fail
to weep at the suffering and loss of life that both peoples have
endured over the last six decades. Allow me to make this appeal to all
the people of these lands: No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more
terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of
violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be
genuine reconciliation and healing. Let it be universally recognized
that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and
security within internationally agreed borders. Let it be likewise
acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign
independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let
the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream. And let
peace spread outwards from these lands, let them serve as a "light to
the nations" (Is 42:6), bringing hope to the many other regions that
are affected by conflict.
One of the saddest sights for me during
my visit to these lands was the wall. As I passed alongside it, I
prayed for a future in which the peoples of the Holy Land can live
together in peace and harmony without the need for such instruments of
security and separation, but rather respecting and trusting one
another, and renouncing all forms of violence and aggression. Mr.
President, I know how hard it will be to achieve that goal. I know how
difficult is your task, and that of the Palestinian Authority. But I
assure you that my prayers and the prayers of Catholics across the
world are with you as you continue your efforts to build a just and
lasting peace in this region.
It remains only for me to express
my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed in so many ways to my
visit. To the Government, the organizers, the volunteers, the media, to
all who have provided hospitality to me and those accompanying me, I am
deeply grateful. Please be assured that you are remembered with
affection in my prayers. To all of you, I say: thank you, and may God
be with you. Shalom!
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