Posted on 05/16/2015 9:38:44 AM PDT by marshmallow
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (CNN) - Pope Francis will canonize two 19th century Palestinian women as Roman Catholic saints.
The historic event is especially meaningful to one of the world's oldest Christian communities.
It is the perfect celebration of sainthood for two Palestinian nuns, a humble and devout offering of prayer to mark a historic moment for Christians and Palestinians. In the land of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, the land of the beginnings of Christianity, Mariam Baouardy and Marie-Alphonsine Ghattas are the first two Palestinian saints in modern times.
“As Christians, this is a sign of hope, this is a light in the tunnel - the dark tunnel in which we are living, especially now in the Middle East with all the events, with all the violence. We are celebrating the lives of two saints who worked humbly for everyone and who proved to be true followers of Jesus Christ,” said Father Jamal Khader, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Marie-Alphonsinse Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in the 1840s to a devout Christian family. She became a nun, dedicating herself to a life of quiet servitude. In Bethlehem, she said she began to receive visions of the Virgin Mary telling her to start a new congregation for Arab girls called Sisters of the Rosary. Her hard work, her devotion led to the Rosary Sisters Convent. It was Ghattas' home, donated to the convent to spread education and culture.
“Sometimes God creates from these weak people something great,” said Sister Agatha, member of the Rosary Sister congregation in Jerusalem.
Her canonization comes one year after Pope Francis visited the Holy Land, one of his first trips overseas as pontiff.
His visit became its own reason to celebrate a triumph for the Christian community that continues to this very day with the sainthood........
(Excerpt) Read more at wdam.com ...
Some of the finest people I’ve met were Palestinian Christians. But here on FR, they’re consigned to hell because they’re Palestinian.
That’s crap.
It sure is.
I’ve never heard a negative comment about Palestinian Christians. I think your:
a) fantasizing
b) making it up as another liberal trolling attempt
I see. So that means nobody else does, because you don't? That's how sociopaths reason.
a) fantasizing b) making it up as another liberal trolling attempt
Better get back on those meds.
So you make a cockamamie and probably false generalization about all Free Republic posters and I’m the sociopath?
If you have had a beef with some post somewhere take it up with them directly, don’t give the entire population grief for your perception of ‘microaggression’.
I lean toward the troll diagnosis.
How about you post references to a few examples?
"Palestinians" did not exist in the 19th century. This is anti-Semite propaganda.
Good catch.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/439645/Palestine
The word Palestine derives from Philistia, —snip— The name was revived by the Romans in the 2nd century ad in “Syria Palaestina,” —snip— and made its way thence into Arabic, where it has been used to describe the region at least since the early Islamic era.
—snip—
The name Palestine has long been in popular use as a general term to denote a traditional region, but this usage does not imply precise boundaries.
Thanks for inspiring a brief history lesson.
O2
“I’ve never heard a negative comment about Palestinian Christians.”
I have. Usually it is over the fact that Palestinian Christians (of all stripes) support Palestinian statehood and often reject any legitimacy for Israel.
A ‘Palestinian’ in the 19th century was understood to be a Jew unless specified otherwise. They would have been known as ‘Arab Christians’ in any case.
Here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012041/posts
Example:
“If these were really Christians, they would not use the name “Palestinian” to describe themselves and they would join with Israel and help them against the Muslims. Shomali’s tone is very anti-Israel, is what I perceive.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3111781/posts
“I am not at all surprised by this. Pali Christians are some of the biggest Israel haters out there. Pali Christians are behind Sabeel, which has been infiltrating U.S. mainline churches with anti-Israel propaganda.” http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3203070/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/587616/posts
“”Palestinians” did not exist in the 19th century. This is anti-Semite propaganda.”
Nonsense. Junipero Serra, who died in 1784 - before there the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was born in Spain and died in Mexico (now California, U.S.A.). He’ll still be called an American saint - and some people will mean that as if the U.S.A. existed in California at the time!
Palestine was a common term in the mid-19th century for there was no Israel: https://books.google.com/books?id=i3NTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=palestine&hl=en&sa=X&ei=07lXVbujPMmGsAXhh4GwBg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=palestine&f=false
“Palestinian” maybe somewhat anachronistic, but so is “American” in a number of cases.
Ever hear of Sirhan Sirhan? Hannan Ashrawi? George Habash? Hilarion Capacucci?
Disagreeing with their political choice to support Palestinian muslims (who will not be returning the support) and questioning their ’hatred’ of Israel’ (if there is any truth to either of these) is certainly not the same as “consigning them to hell”.
Yes,no,yes,no.
Has Free Republic often discussed these people? I think not.
If there is some kind of middle-eastern tribal animosity toward Palestinian Christians being imported here, perhaps you and 9th life should take it someplace else.
You wrote:
“is certainly not the same as “consigning them to hell”.”
Agreed, but you wrote: “I’ve never heard a negative comment about Palestinian Christians.”
Now you have - if you read those threads I linked to.
Ok I scanned them and didn’t see that much that was negative. And I would also be concerned about American Christian churches adopting anti-Israel stances no matter who is spreading it muslim or christian.
Overall a pretty neutral conversation, especially the one about Cruz being booed considering how much the Cruz faction attacks Walker supporters here.
Certainly nothing that merits 9 lives cat spraying out that this is a hotbed of hate for Christian Palestinians on what was a positive post about catholic sainthood steps.
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