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Gregorios III Laham, Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and Jerusalem: "Do not make Jerusalem a political capital. It's a sacred space that must remain the capital of faiths"

Prayer for PeaceDialogueEcumenismBarcelonaSpirit of Assisi

Gregorios III Laham, patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, has lived in Jerusalem for almost twenty years, and speaking about this city says forcefully: "Jerusalem is the capital of our faith. Point. I ask you: Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, Americans, Europeans, do not make a political capital! It does not make a municipality, which you will be the directors, statutory auditors. "

So Laham spoke at the meeting of Sant'Egidio in Barcelona, during a panel on the city of the three faiths. "Why do you want to make it a political capital? I know that I'm saying this out of all the opinions. I am, as they say in Arabic, a bird that sings a different melody from the melody of all the other birds. I am an Arab Christian and I am completely behind my Palestinian brothers. I have always affirmed the right of both the peoples, Palestinians and Israelis, to have a homeland, a nation. Starting from this point, despite all the legitimate aspirations of Jews, Christians, Muslims, I say: do not usurp the right of God on this town".

For Laham: "No nation has power over Jerusalem, it is haram, sacred. You have to understand what has been said about the prophets in Jerusalem. We must not denigrate this word, result of divine inspiration, or create a caricature of it, devalue it, make it meaningless by interpreting it with a political decision, or ethnic origin. With the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over Jerusalem the word of God has been politicized and manipulated. It has lost its beauty, its sublime and divine character... Remove your hands from Jerusalem! Above all you, politicians. Complied with the plan, the economy of God on it. It is not your feud your domain, your property. "