"In Chad, in the 1970s, relations between Christians and Muslims were excellent. The Islamic faithful were very open to dialogue and made their children attend Catholic schools. Mixed marriages were routine, as it was working together in peace. Then, this serene climate has been compromised by a civil war and the intervention of Arab countries: in recent years, emissaries of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries have arrived here in the northern region of the Country.

Sister Margherita Marin, the nun who found John Paul I dead, “There were three sheets of paper, I remember a Gospel quotation”

*****

I followed up with sorrow--as well as with others who love Jerusalem, the Holy City--the announcement made by US President Donald Trump to move his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and consequently his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a unilateral step which undermines all international resolutions with regard to the final settlement. Furthermore, his announcement jeopardizes the peaceful nature of Jerusalem which serves as a crucible for all the believers.

Benny, seminarian in the Saint James Vicariate, writes for us about a very important subject during Advent.

Many times, as modern people, we feel that life pulls us in all kinds of directions and bombards us with so many different commitments that at the end, even if we wanted to, we will not even have time to devote ourselves to God.

This question is very important and we should stop a minute to think about the root of the problem and what possible solution can be found.

During the Christmas tree celebration in Beit Sahour on Saturday December 9. 2017, Patriarch Michel Sabbah said : "Whatever the great of this world and the lords of war say or decide, they said: Jerusalem is their capital, all Palestine is theirs, and no place for us in Jerusalem, neither in our land. With all that, we will not lose our joy. We will remain in our land, we will remain in Jerusalem, capital of our prayers and of our daily life, whatever they say and decide."

Following is the text of his address:

The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan has decried the unilateral step represented by the decision taken by US President Donald Trump regarding relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem, a measure which undermines international legitimacy and international conventions as well as attempts to tarnish the image of Jerusalem by turning it from a city of peace into a city of dispute. The CCSM also called for adding new adornments to the Christmas tree, titled "Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine" and "Our National Unity is Our Decoration".

Following is the full text of Pope Francis' prayer to Mary on the Immaculate Conception:
Here is the full translated text of the prayer:

Immaculate Mother,

For the fifth time I come to your feet as Bishop of Rome,
to pay you homage on behalf of all the inhabitants of this city.

Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception solemnly affirms, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: "The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 492)

The vocation of a city Jerusalem will only be faithful to itself if it remains a beacon for the women and men of the entire world, “a city where all together become one” as it says in Psalm 121.

Jerusalem is a unique city in the world as anyone who has had the fortune to pass through its gates will attest.

Nowhere else on earth is there such an overlapping of peoples and spiritualities. The whole city is full of symbols.

In view of Trump's announcement concerning the U. S. Embassy, Abu Mazen phones Francis, who at the General Audience says to be deeply concerned and makes a heartfelt appeal to all to respect the city’s status quo.