Gaza Catholics without Sunday mass: Pope’s diplomatic envoy barred from Strip
Date: 23 / 11 / 2008 Time: 19:53
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Catholic faithful in Gaza had no mass on Sunday when Israel barred a senior church envoy and several priests from entering the Strip.
In a statement the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Papal Nuncio in Israel Archbishop Antonio Franco and priests Shawki Baterian and Humam Khzouz arrived at the Erez border crossing at 8:15 on Sunday morning expecting to be permitted to enter the Strip.
The Latin Patriarchate said it had been in contact with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and senior Israeli Army command regarding the visit since Tuesday. Red Cross and United Nations teams were allowed to enter Gaza on Sunday while the Catholic delegation waited at the border.
The clerics were en route to Gaza to celebrate mass “at the Holy Family Church in Gaza with local faithful the last Sunday before advent season begins, to highlight that the Holy See is close to the people in Gaza, and its Christian communities in these difficult days.”
The church’s normal priest, Monsignor Manuel Mussallam, was also not present. Mussallam was permitted to leave Gaza for the first time in eight years last week, and was with family in the West Bank on Sunday.
Three churches serve Gaza’s 2,000 Christians, who are mainly Catholic and Greek Orthodox.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33461
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Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM), a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.
Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine’s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine’s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.
A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.
Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled “The Tallest Man in Ramallah.” He holds an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA — a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.
He tweets at @SamBahour, blogs at www.epalestine.ps, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.
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