"We could hear heavy rifle and tank shooting. It is hard for us to determine who started the shooting. We are locked up and we could not see the whole thing," he told Reuters by telephone.
"It seems that the basilica was not damaged. The Israeli soldiers are very careful not to damage it," he said.
This is strikingly honest and brave on the part of Father Lubecki; most reports from Christians inside the church seem like they were just saying what those holding the church want them to say. I hope the Israelis have some realistic plan on how to get out of this particular little quagmire; my Christian friends here have been very patient with Israel on this, but the Monte Cassino solution, God forbid, is too horrid to contemplate.