A Bleak Easter for Christians in the Holy Land Amidst Despair and Restrictions

Frightened, depressed, tired, resourceless. "It will be a sad Easter for Christians around here. Unimaginable." Father Ibrahim Faltas, a Franciscan, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land has just returned to Jerusalem after a morning spent in the West Bank visiting some Catholic communities. He tells Il Messaggero that in Bethlehem (but not only) there is palpable despair on the streets, no one is working anymore, there are no pilgrims and tourists, the shops are closed, and the months drag on very difficultly. "Christians were able to obtain from the Israeli authorities only a few permits compared to those that had been requested for the Easter celebrations. The passes would have been used for religious purposes to take part in the Triduum rites. Unfortunately, very few documents were issued and only for people over 45 years old. Applicants who were younger were unable to obtain anything and therefore will not move." Security reasons, they explained. Pope Francis, we must negotiate for the end of the war in Ukraine and Gaza. Then he shows the world how to rediscover the virtue of prudence. At the Via Crucis, only foreign Catholics living and working in Israel can take part: Filipinos, Indians above all. "Those who live in the West Bank are prevented. It's all very sad: naturally we look to the future with the strength of faith but the situation is becoming more and more tragic, day after day," the religious explains. The news verified by the Patriarchate on the real situation of the population of Gaza unfortunately confirms the food shortage. "The information we have is verified. Unfortunately, the trucks that arrived full of food are not enough. Moreover, just think that in recent days, twelve people drowned trying to recover containers thrown from airplanes into the sea. Desperate people literally. There are not too many words to describe all this. In Gaza, there is also a shortage of water and there are those who try to drink seawater." Pope Francis washes and kisses the feet of twelve female inmates in the Rebibbia prison: "Christ teaches us the value of service." On Easter day, the Christian community will celebrate mass at the Holy Sepulchre as per tradition. "Very few will come from Bethlehem. In this case too, the requested permits were not given, however, beyond this not secondary aspect, now even getting to Jerusalem by car is a luxury, people do not even have money to buy bread. It's really bad." The return of pilgrims is needed but there are no pilgrims. "It's fear that leads to not leaving, to not coming here. There are also few flights and with prohibitive costs. We hope to find a solution, all we have left is prayer." Pope Francis asks for peace for Ukraine. Moscow: "We are ready, but the West must stop its ambitions."