For the first time in history Jerusalem has a resident cardinal following the elevation of Latin Patriarch Mgr.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis at the Vatican on September 30.
Pizzaballa’s appointment took place at a time of increasing acts of spitting and vandalism against Christians specifically in Jerusalem’s Old City over the Sukkot holiday. A video captured by volunteers from the Religious Freedom Data Center hotline for anti-Christian attacks showing ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at the feet of a group of Catholic pilgrims caused an uproar on social media, and on Wednesday the Jerusalem District Police announced it had arrested several suspects in spitting cases. Plainclothes policemen continued to make arrests toward the end of the week.
Pizzaballa has in the past spoken out strongly against these growing incidents, noting that they are not a new phenomenon, and, while condemning them in no uncertain terms, has identified the need not only for greater police reaction but also for more dialogue and better education.
At a press conference on September 21, prior to leaving for Rome, Pizzaballa said he understood the responsibility he was taking upon himself not only to be the voice of the local Christian community and its different components, but also to “be one of the voices from Jerusalem.”
“We are living in a very complicated time, at a crossroads of many different cultures, religions, and political tensions, so it is very important to be a serene but oftentimes a clear, strong voice as much as possible from Jerusalem to the world,” he said. “Our perspectives should be put into the broader context of other perspectives. Jerusalem has a lot of narratives... so I think it is important to talk not only about what we are living but also about possible and concrete perspectives for the future of the city.”
According to the patriarchate, an earlier patriarch, Filippo Camassei, who served from 1907 to 1919, was created a cardinal in Rome in 1919, but he did not come back to Jerusalem after the consistory ceremony where he was made cardinal, and died in Rome in 1921.
“Pope Francis has appointed Patriarch Pizzaballa as the first cardinal of Jerusalem. This means that the Holy Father and 1.3 billion Catholics are especially close to the Holy City and to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has a special role for the region and for the world: it is a place where there are differences and tensions,” said Latin Patriarchate Chancellor Father Davide Meli in an emailed comment. “It is a place of beauty; the place where all are called to meet each other.... The questions, problems, answers and solutions that come from our region now acquire more space on the world stage.”
The life of Pizzaballa
BORN IN Cologno al Serio, Bergamo, in Italy, Pizzaballa arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and has spent more than half his life serving the Catholic Church here in the Jerusalem Diocese – an area that also includes Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and Cyprus, and so his naming as cardinal was also celebrated there. He served as the priest and vicar-general for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community in Israel and was the Franciscan custos of the Holy Land for 12 years. Following the retirement of Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, Pizzaballa was appointed apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate tasked with putting financial and administrative matters in order. In 2020 Francis officially named him the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
“I am pleased to be a voice for the Christians of this land in the world. I will continue, at the same time, to root the work of His Holiness in promoting ecumenical dialogue in the Holy Land. I remain a pastor for the Christian community here, to help guide them throughout the various upheavals they may be faced with on a social and political level,” Pizzaballa said in a statement following the Vatican ceremony.
Francis has appointed cardinals in places where Christians are in a problematic situation, drawing attention to those communities, noted Yisca Harani, an independent researcher, lecturer and interfaith activist who initiated the hotline.
“If there is a Christian minority the pope [wants the world to take note of], then [having a] cardinal means more visibility [for the local Christian community],” she said. “Maybe he is also looking at the situation of the Christians here. Certainly now [the cardinal] has a better chance to expose and transmit the issues the Christians are facing here. But, honestly, the Israeli government usually overlooks the Christians unless they are Evangelical, but what happened this past week with the [spitting] videos that went viral worldwide made even an Israeli government of the type we have now take note and say maybe this isn’t good for Israel’s reputation.”
While numerous Israeli politicians, including the prime minister, condemned the recent spitting attacks which were in the limelight, three months ago they labeled the conference she organized on the subject as “antisemitic,” Harani said, noting that Pizzaballa was the first church leader to instruct members of the church to cooperate with the hotline to gather information and testimony about spitting incidents in order to follow through on the legal level.
“Israel wants the Vatican to admit that Israel protects the freedom of religion of minorities, so now that there is a cardinal present, maybe they will pay more attention [to these issues]. Otherwise, they don’t care,” she said.
Harani met with Pizzaballa before he flew to Rome, she said, and discussed legal steps to be taken vis-à-vis the police and the courts in order to combat the spitting.
“I think this cardinal as a personality is really looked up to. Of all the high-ranking clergy in Israel, he is really the most appreciated one by everybody, including the government,” Harani said. “From the Israeli point of view, he is absolutely not suspected of having all sorts of hidden agendas. He is very trusted that he will not deal with land [sales] on the table, nor under the table, unlike other churches. His mouth and his heart are in the same place.
Under his office there will be no issues of land sales; maybe, as a state, Israel is not happy about that. That means that he is 100% trustworthy for Palestinians, even if they think he is more on the Israeli side and want him to be more radical and politicized in his statements. But they know they can trust him 100% that nothing will be done in back offices that people don’t know about.”
KNOWN FOR his humility, and open, honest, and personable style, Pizzaballa has managed to gain the respect of Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian and Cypriot leaders in the conflicted region, as well as being well-liked by most of the local Catholic communities, which include Palestinians, Israelis, migrant workers and asylum-seekers – even after having been appointed following the terms of the first two local patriarchs: Michel Sabah, born in Nazareth and an outspoken proponent of Palestinian rights, and then Twal, a Jordanian. Pizzaballa is also well respected among the leaders of the other churches and has contributed positively to the improved ties and dialogue between the various denominations, as well as in interreligious dialogue.
“Taking responsibility as administrator after two local patriarchs, stepping into their shoes, is very difficult. He had to be extremely good and do it in an extremely smart way for people not to show... disappointment. Pizzaballa also brings the Palestinian voice, but he is not a Palestinian,” said Hana Bencowsky of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. “He manages very well, maybe not making everyone happy, but not making everyone not happy either. It is not ideal, but it is working well because he knows how to do that; he reads people and has social skills not every clergy has.”
According to Rabbi David Rosen, a longtime interreligious activist and member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, Pizzaballa’s appointment will have very little effect on Israel-Vatican relations. But one consequence of Pizzaballa now having been made a cardinal is that he will have a much closer interface with the pope, and will be able to report back to him more directly with insights and information about the local situation – including the spitting incidents – which may not have been discussed at length before. Therefore, issues connected to Israeli-Palestinian relations may get a higher profile, he said.
“Inasmuch as he is a very talented man, and he speaks Hebrew, Italian, Arabic and English, now that he is a cardinal, the press and media might be more interested in him, and his balanced and fair and critical view may get more exposure on Israeli media if they choose,” said Rosen. “I think a good friend tells you honestly when you do something not good, and I think Cardinal Pizzaballa is a good friend of the Jewish people. He genuinely cares for us and is not afraid to criticize when it is warranted, and that is very good.”
Because of his new position, he may be able to give more visibility to these issues, bringing more international pressure on the government to react as a result, said Rosen.
“Our problem is that the [National] Security Ministry is in the hands of an open racist, a person who should be a great embarrassment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and the result is that things that should get attention, such as the interests of minorities, are neglected,” Rosen said.
Coming to the role of cardinal with very rich experience, Pizzaballa should be more capable of dealing with various civil authorities concerning issues important to the Catholic and Christian community, said Wadie Abunassar, coordinator of the Holy Land Christian Forum. However, with the current government in place – when the prime minister has failed even to post a congratulations on social media (though President Isaac Herzog has) – any change is unlikely, said Abunassar.
“It is not every day you have a cardinal in Jerusalem,” he said. “I have my doubts, but I hope they will [address important issues]; because the Israeli government missed previous opportunities when Yousef Matta was named Melkite archbishop in 2019, which is the largest church in Israel. It is a great honor to have an Israeli citizen named to that position, or when Dr. Hosam Naoum was made archbishop of the Anglican Church.
“With all due respect to the president, the prime minister is the address for the citizens when they have challenges. The minimum he can do is pay them respect and listen to what they have to say,” he added. “I hope they will listen more to a cardinal who is working for that [to address the challenges faced by the Christian community]. There is an opportunity, now that there is a cardinal in Jerusalem. Maybe this is the moment to improve relations between the government and the church.”