A LE TTER F RO M J ER U SALEM
Facing Change With Courage and Vision by Pierbattista Pizzaballa
D
ear friends in Christ, For several months, the world has been talking about COVID-19, its extraordinary impact on the public, the economic and social consequences it has brought about, and the changes it will bring to everyone’s life. It has been said in all countries that there will be a before and an after COVID-19, that nothing will ever be as it was before. We are, however, still in the phase of witnessing the epochal change taking place, but we are not yet able to define and decipher it. We know that much will change, but not yet precisely how and how much. Perhaps only economically will we have greater clarity: We know that everything will be much more difficult, that many people are already out of work. We do not know, however, what our relationships and social attitudes will be like in the near future. The global church has not been spared from this tsunami that has stopped the life of the world in recent months. Indeed, I would say it is the first time the church has found itself facing a situation of total blockade of this kind. Our church in the Holy Land, for example, has experienced many wars, intifadas and periods of emergency. They were dramatic but clear situations where we knew where the danger lay. And the
church, even in those situations, has always allowed herself to be involved in the service of the poor and deprived, and never interrupted her pastoral and sacramental service. Churches have always been open for various celebrations. Now, however, for the first time, an invisible enemy has totally stopped the life of the church; any form of pastoral care and sacramental activity has been suspended. We must recognize we were not prepared for such a situation — this pandemic is something absolutely new. We must then ask ourselves what this entails for us believers. What are the consequences for the life of the church in general and the church of the Holy Land in particular? I can only mention a few insights, because we must recognize that we are all at the same school and we are all discovering gradually the meaning and scope of this event — including from a spiritual point of view. I believe it can be said that this disaster, which has paralyzed the life of the church and the world, has brought us back to the truth about us: Humans are fragile. Today we can do things that until recently seemed impossible and unreachable in scientific, economic and commercial matters. Scientific progress, in short, makes us more powerful and opens us to ever greater and wider perspectives in all areas of our personal and social lives. We trust more and more in our strengths and abilities. We feel almost invincible. And then comes along a virus that upsets all our certainties. In just a few days, everything has either
“This new situation brings us back to the core of our faith and invites us to trust in God.”
With public processions canceled, Archbishop Pierbatista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, blesses Jerusalem with a relic of the True Cross on Palm Sunday.
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CNEWA
7
