Without traffic, the short drive from Taybeh, a village in the Palestinian West Bank, to Jerusalem would usually take 20 minutes. But that easy commute routinely stretches to three hours, slowed when motorists are ordered to pass through a series of Palestinian military checkpoints.
In addition to that obvious inconvenience, Christians and other people in Taybeh, located about 9.3 miles northeast of Jerusalem, live with a mix of fear — due to unrest and oppressive actions by radical settlers — and hope — due to attempts to promote peace among various ethnicities and religions in the area. The world got a little smaller for students of St. Vincent Martyr School in Madison, N.J., on Nov. 13, when Father Bashar Fawadleh, pastor of the Roman Catholic parish of Christ the Redeemer in Taybeh shared this message and spoke to them about the region’s considerable peace challenges during a presentation in the parish church.
Before Father Fawadleh’s talk that morning, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass on the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patroness of missionaries. Father Fawadleh and Father Owen Moran, pastor of St. Vincent’s, concelebrated the liturgy. The event ended with a question-and-answer session between the guest speaker and school students. Paterson, N.J., Mayor Andre Sayeh also attended and offered his reflection.
Father Fawadleh’s visit was part of a trip to the United States to raise awareness of the situation in his region — the last remaining Christian village in the West Bank. The population shrank from 3,000 people in the 1980s to 1,223 people now.
“When you think of the Holy Land, you think of holy places such as the Sea of Galilee or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Less visible are the Christian parents going to work, children going to school, and people building families and homes. They fear that the future of their village is slowly disappearing,” said Father Fawadleh, adding that Christians there originate from the Roman Catholic, Melkite, and Greek Orthodox traditions.
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Yet Father Fawadleh sounded optimistic, adding that Christians in the area are “committed to the hope of the Gospel.” They run schools that educate 400 students, many of them Muslim.
“Our mission is not limited to Christians. The students learn and build friendships as they live together. It’s a choice,” Father Fawadleh said. “It’s not only a social project but an expression of living the Gospel. Hope is stronger than fear,” he said.
At the end of his talk, Father Fawadleh urged the St. Vincent’s community — and all people of good will — to pray for all people in the Holy Land; become informed, listen to the stories of Christians in the area and share them; and become partners in hope, encouraging Church leaders to promote religious freedom and dignity.
In the question-and-answer period, St. Vincent’s students and staff asked Father Fawadleh about sports, among other topics. He said there are academies for music, soccer, basketball, and “slow dancing.” In response to a question about promoting peace in the region, he said, “It’s better if we respect each other and meet people where they are.”
During the event, Father Fawadleh and Sister of Charity Noreen Holly, principal of St. Vincent’s School, pledged to start a Zoom connection between students in Madison and the Taybeh areas.
“Spirituality is a leveler. We are all made in the likeness of God,” said Sister Holly, noting that spirituality can inspire people to have more empathy for others. “Faith is stronger than fear. We will pray for you with empathy and will be connected to you,” she said to the guest speaker.
During the Mass, Bishop Sweeney spoke to St. Vincent’s students about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian missionary to the United States who educated and served Italian immigrants in the U.S. and later South America.
“We need to follow Jesus’ commandment to love one another. We need to welcome immigrants and pray for our brothers and sisters in need,” said Bishop Sweeney, noting that his parents emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. as did Father Moran and Sister Holly. “Jesus comes for everybody. We can welcome people from all over the world,” he said.
Bishop Sweeney added, “We need to be reminded of the need for equality and dignity of all people. We need to pray for an end to unrest in the Middle East and the United States and for peace and hope, finding those together.
