Middle East News

Jerusalem prelate tells Arab Spring youth to have confidence

Apr 8, 2012, 11:42 GMT

Jerusalem - Participants in the Arab Spring should show 'strength of will and confidence in a better future,' Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal said Sunday in his Easter homily.

Delivering his sermon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Twal, the ranking Catholic prelate in the Holy Land, said Christians in the Middle East 'live in fear,' due to the unrest in the region.

But, he said, 'in the Arab countries around us, an enthusiastic youth has shaken from his feet the dust of a dark, miserable and totalitarian history. This is a new generation in search of a new life of justice, freedom and dignity, seeking resurrection and reform for its people.'

'The only means of bringing about these changes are strength of will and confidence in a better future,' he said. ' We help them though our prayers, our encouragement, our advice to be guided by reason while being faithful to their motherland and all it stands for.'

Thousands of Christians flocked to the Holy City Sunday, to pray and meditate as they mark Easter Sunday. The focal point was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem and according to tradition, built on the site where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried.

Visiting Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was among the worshippers in the church, before heading to meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches mark Easter this weekend. Eastern orthodox churches celebrate Easter next week.

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