New Bishop in Jerusalem is Jewish!

israel today ^ | January 2004

[Land of the Irish]

For the first time since the Apostle James served as bishop of Jerusalem, the Holy City has a Jewish bishop! Benedictine Abbot Jean-Baptiste Gourion was ordained as the new bishop at the Catholic church in Kiryat Ye’arim, above the Israeli Arab village of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem.

Bishop Gourion will be responsible for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community in Israel, many of whom are of Jewish origin. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the archbishop of Paris who is also a Jew, described Pope John Paul’s appointment of Bishop Gourion as one of prophetic courage. “After such a long time, Jerusalem finally has a Jewish bishop again!” he said.

The Pope’s appointment came during his historic six-day visit to Israel in the spring of 2000, when Gourion was an abbot. “My appointment serves to normalize relations between the Church and the people of Israel and to demonstrate that Christians and Jews are brothers,” Bishop Gourion told israel today.

Presiding over the ordination was the Pope’s personal envoy Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah and the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi. Many Jewish friends of the new bishop were among the capacity crowd that filled the church.

Born in 1934 to a Jewish family in Oran, Algeria, Jean-Baptiste Gourion was baptized in Paris in 1958 and joined the Benedictine monastery of Bec Hellouin in Normandy. In 1976, the young monk was sent to rejuvenate the Monastery of the Resurrection in Abu Ghosh, where he became prior and later abbot. Bishop Gourion is highly respected not only among the Moslems in Abu Ghosh, but also by many Israelis.

Explaining how he, as a Jew, became a Catholic, he told us: “For me, Christianity and Judaism are the same. I didn’t have to leave Judaism to come to Christianity. The Jew and the Christian form the same body.” As such, he makes it clear that he will not engage in “missionary” activities.

Though he will primarily serve Israel’s Hebrew-speaking Catholics, Bishop Gourion is open to all believers in the Land, both Jew and Gentile. He calls his flock the “Christian Israeli Church,” which celebrates mass in Hebrew with Hebrew-speaking priests!

His Palestinian superior, Michel Sabbah, well known for his anti-Israel stance, opposed Gourion’s appointment; nevertheless, Sabbah had to participate in his ordination. Immediately after the ceremony, Bishop Gourion told Sabbah: “My friend, Cardinal Lustiger and I are two Jewish Christians, and like all Jews in the world, we’re known for fundamental solidarity with Israel, even if we sometimes don’t like the behavior of the Israeli government.”

After his ordination, israel today editor Aviel Schneider interviewed the new bishop.

israel today: Congratulations, Bishop Gourion.

Bishop Gourion: Thank you. Yes, I am the first Jewish bishop in Eretz Israel [the Land of Israel] in nearly 2,000 years!

israel today: What’s the difference between a Catholic Jew and a Messianic Jew?

Bishop Gourion: The Jewish Catholics belong to an historical church, whereas the Israeli Messianic Jews developed a new expression only 50 years ago. Apart from that, we have much in common in our faiths, including the Hebrew language.

israel today: Do you have contact with Messianic Jews in Israel?

Bishop Gourion: Even if we don’t have official contacts with Messianic Judaism, I personally have close ties with Messianic Jews in the country. All in all,we are one family.

israel today: Please tell me how your Jewish parents reacted in 1958 when you were baptized.

Bishop Gourion: They had a very hard time. They were shocked and saw me as a traitor. My brother and two sisters could hardly get over my belief in Jesus.

israel today: How did your family react to your new title of bishop?

Bishop Gourion: I have a very close relationship with my three siblings, who attended my ordination in Jerusalem and gave me God’s blessing. All in all, I think my appointment by the Catholic Church points to a new era between Jews and Catholic Christians. We have to learn to understand each other better. The Catholic Church has no intention of converting Jews to Christianity. Therefore, the Pope advocated a Jewish bishop in Israel.

israel today: Nevertheless, you represent the Catholic Church, which has been responsible for the death of thousands of Jews in the name of Jesus.

Bishop Gourion: The Pope, who heads the Catholic Church and directs its policies, asked the Jewish people for forgiveness both in Rome and Jerusalem. It’s in our hands to bring about reconciliation between Jews and Christians through our daily lives. What history destroyed, we must rebuild today.

israel today: Though I don’t want to mention any names, not every Catholic bishop wants to be reconciled with the Jewish people.

Bishop Gourion: That’s true, but we must create a new way of thinking in the Church, which isn’t possible overnight. Among the Jews as well, there are those who are positive toward Christians and others who are negative.

israel today: For both political and theological reasons, the Vatican was reluctant to recognize the Jewish state, establishing diplomatic ties with Israel just 10 years ago. One of the reasons is that the Catholic Church thinks of itself as God’s chosen people.

Bishop Gourion: Well, 40 years ago in the Second Vatican Council, the Church adopted a new theological position toward Israel as God’s chosen people. The Catholic Church does not replace the Jewish people with whom God made an eternal covenant.

israel today: But in the 1950s, how could you, as a Jew, join the Catholic Church, when it looked upon itself—and still does, at least in part—as God’s chosen people?

Bishop Gourion: I knew then that the Church’s theology was wrong concerning the Jewish people. But what was worse for me was being disowned by my Jewish family and friends for joining the Church.

israel today: The New Testament is a very Jewish book. But I often get the impression that the churches almost completely ignore the Old Testament.

Bishop Gourion: You’re right and that shouldn’t be. One cannot understand the New Testament without studying the Old Testament. This often resulted in theological misunderstandings.

israel today: Do you still think of yourself as part of the Jewish people?

Bishop Gourion: Sure. I see myself as a Jew.

israel today: As a Jew and a Catholic. So you want the best of both worlds?

Bishop Gourion: [laughs] Yes! That’s one way of seeing it!

[Land of the Irish]

The Catholic Church has no intention of converting Jews to Christianity. Therefore, the Pope advocated a Jewish bishop in Israel.

Well, 40 years ago in the Second Vatican Council, the Church adopted a new theological position toward Israel as God’s chosen people. The Catholic Church does not replace the Jewish people with whom God made an eternal covenant.

I knew then that the Church’s theology was wrong concerning the Jewish people. But what was worse for me was being disowned by my Jewish family and friends for joining the Church.

Another example of the recent “conservative” appointments by Pope John Paul II to bring about the long awaited Springtime of VC II.

[Land of the Irish]

Ping

[Fifthmark]

This is really nauseating. Whenever I behold the building blocks of the "Civilization of Love," such as this heretic in Jerusalem, I try to comfort myself with the following mantra: "Council of Florence, Council of Florence...."

[attagirl]

is the pope Catholic?

[CARepubGal]

KumBaYah gone awry, my sympathies to the faithful RC's trying to fulfill the Great Commission. And there IS ONE BIG HUGE difference between the two faiths mentioned above: Jesus. Simple as that.

[Unam Sanctam]

Oh yes, how horrible that an ethnic Jew converts to Catholicism and then becomes a bishop. We certainly don't want any of their kind around! Too bad about St. James the Apostle, as well as, well, Christ, Our Lady and all the apostles -- they were all Jews! /sarcasm> When he says that he still feels Jewish, presumably he is saying that Catholicism includes Judaism (i.e., the Old Testament) as a foundation, but obviously so much more as well, as set forth in the new covenant, which is in the New Testament, which the man obviously accepts since he referred to that. I don't agree with him on the issue of evangelizing Jews, since, as I pray on Good Friday, I hope that the Jewish people would acknowledge Christ and understand the full meaning of the covenant. The "theological" change that he mentions does not relate to the deposit of faith. To the extent that such a person can be an example to bring Jews into the Church, I would say more power to him.

[Land of the Irish]

One question.

Do you agree with this statement of the bishop?

"The Catholic Church has no intention of converting Jews to Christianity."
Please, just a yes/no answer will suffice.

Yes or No, Unam.

[missyme]

I think we are seeing Prophecy happening before our eyes..
G-d Bless the Bishop and Peace to Israel...

[Land of the Irish]

I think we are seeing Prophecy happening before our eyes..

If you are referring to the Apocalypse, I agree.

[Unam Sanctam]

Do you agree with this statement of the bishop? "The Catholic Church has no intention of converting Jews to Christianity."

You needn't have asked, since I had already said in my previous response that I do not agree with the statement. All those outside the Catholic faith should be invited to enter into the fullness of truth in the Catholic Church. Please note that the abortive USCCB committee document about that was not approved by the Holy See, and as you know under the new rules on bishops' conferences promulgated by that notorious "heretic" John Paul II, conferences cannot issue doctrinal statements without approval of Rome.

[dangus]

BENEDICTINE!!!
O MY GOODNESS!!!
Irish, meet the next Pope?!!
HOLY COW, this literally knocked me out of my chair.
The prophecies of Malachi depicted one last Pope after "The Labor of the Sun" (Pope John Paul II was born during an eclipse) before "Peter the Roman" (although there may be several *unnamed* popes in between). This next-to-last identified pope was called the "Glory of the Olives."

The Benedictines have long insisted that meant that he would be one of them. I forget how, but they have always been identified with olives.

I, personally, have anticipated that the "olives," rather, meant the Jews, after Romans 11. The glory of the olives, then would be someone who was Jewish, or possibly even, someone who would lead the remnant Jews to the "tree" (Christ).

This would seem to suggest, however, and end of times scenario, so I was never comfortable with it, or Malachi's prophecies. But going with the end-times, the glory of the olives could also mean a great peace-maker.

Imagine! Someone who meets both mine and the Benedictine's interpretation of the prophecy at the same time!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Ooooohhh my........

I'm still voting for an Italian but this is pretty scary!

[HarleyD]

Explaining how he, as a Jew, became a Catholic, he told us: “For me, Christianity and Judaism are the same. I didn’t have to leave Judaism to come to Christianity. The Jew and the Christian form the same body.”

Even if we don’t have official contacts with Messianic Judaism, I personally have close ties with Messianic Jews in the country. All in all,we are one family.

[My family] had a very hard time. They were shocked and saw me as a traitor. My brother and two sisters could hardly get over my belief in Jesus.

Oooooooh, this must really hurt the “Catholic is the only way” crowd. So much good material. I will only say this is one honorable bishop who gets it.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Matt 10:35

[AAABEST]

To call this an "interesting development" would be a most drastic understatement.

I'll say one thing. I would feel a whole lot better if he were to say something like "I would love for my Jewish brothers and sisters to join me and experience Christ great enlightenment", as opposed to this hands off approach.

I guessing there's a method to the madness however.

[missyme]

How does this prophecy intertwine with the Great Peacemaker also known as the Anti-christ?

[dangus]

Well, the Great Peacemaker certainly is not a title given to an anti-Christ in the bible. In fact, I've almost found the use of the word, "Anti-Christ" useless, as it is applied to so many characters: The Beast, The Harlot, The False Prophet. As John says, "There are many anti-Christs already in the world" and "Many deceivers are [already] entered the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-Christ."

The term merely means someone whom occupies the place of Christ in the hearts of the wicked. So who is the anti-Christ? A lover one obsesses over? A fortune-teller?

We are certainly called to be peace-makers, for we worship he who is called "Lord of Peace," "God of Peace," and "King of Peace." I presume you refer, however, to the passage, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."

I don't take this as meaning that there shall be a great Peacemaker who is evil. I take it rather that the people shall be in denial, and shall insist that there is peace, even while "Falcons gather where there are corpses." But this is speculation on my part, not doctrine. Or perhaps think of the Japanese, who instigated war as they were proclaiming peace; are perhaps these people who proclaim peace instigating their own destruction through treachery?

It has actually occurred to me that the fear of the proclamation of the "false peace" may actually be the catalyst for those who worship the false Christ to make war against the holy people. A man of peace, slaughtered in A New Temple in Jerusalem, may be precisely "the great abomination."

(Some have construed that the final Pope, Peter the Roman would be the anti-christ. Even some sedaventist Catholics seem to have bought into tis. This fear appears to come from flipping the meaning of the prophecy regarding Peter the Roman, who will "feed his flock amid many tribulations.")
__________________
I also just now read where it is speculated that the Pope who is the Glory of the Olives may name himself Pope Benedict XVI, and be a great peace-maker, as was St. Benedict. Would a Jewish Christian from Palestine bring peace to the Middle East?

[dangus]

A freind reminds me: I find such speculation fun, yet I should not give undue creedence to such "prophecies." I'll stick to the scriptures and the apostolic Tradition, recalling that Revelation is complete with the apostles. I shouldn't let my fun be a stumbling block to others (not to imply you'd stumble over it missyme.)

[Jimmy Simon]

Hi Missy: How are you? Here's a few verses and outside sources that may be of interest in seeing the pattern that has been and is still developing.

You ask:
How does this prophecy intertwine with the Great Peacemaker also known as the Anti-christ?

In accordance with Holy Sciptures, we see daily , as current events unfold, God's prophetic timetable being fulfilled.

1Thessalonians 1:3,4 "...man of sin be revealed..... worshipped ... sitteth in the temple...shewing himself that he is God."
Matthew 24:15 "... abomination of desolation ... stand in the holy place.."

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/159/159_01.asp
the peace of the world depends upon the peace of Jerusalem. That awesome fact is recognized by the United Nations today,

The Vatican even demanded the internationalization of Jerusalem during the U.N. debate in 1947 concerning the partitioning of Palestine.
There is no international agreement giving other nations any control over Jerusalem. Yet it is treated as though it belongs not to Israel but to the rest of the world.
In fact, the world's major powers, in what is apparently an unwritten agreement among them, have determined that one day Jerusalem will be a world center for "peace" under international control. It is no coincidence that the Vatican has played a major role in that program and has recently worked its way into Israel's good graces in order to pursue this odd purpose. That Jerusalem holds the key to world peace is too obvious to argue. Yet the fact that Jerusalem, of all the world's cities, should play such a role makes no sense at all unless one accepts what the Bible says about it.
One can only ask again, "Why this unprecedented treatment of Jerusalem?" What makes it so special? Why does it hold such importance for all nations? The Bible alone offers a reasonable explanation. If the biblical answer to that question is rejected, then no other rationale can be found. Its religious significance, as we have seen, fails to fully explain Jerusalem's uniqueness, a uniqueness which holds an altogether irrational significance for the world's secular powers. Why should a world that doesn't believe the Bible's promises concerning Jerusalem nevertheless treat this city as though what the Bible said about it were true?
Mark Halter, a close friend of Peres, "told the Israeli weekly Shishi that in May [1994] he delivered a letter from Peres to the Pope which outlined the Foreign Minister's plans for Jerusalem. According to Halter, 'Peres offered to hand over sovereignty of Jerusalem's Old City to the Vatican.'"
According to the secret (and to most Israelis, unthinkable) plan, the city would have both an Israeli and a Palestinian mayor, both of whom would be under the authority of the Vatican. The Vatican has made it clear that it considers the religious sites in Jerusalem too precious to be under the control of local authorities. It wants to shoulder that responsibility itself, and apparently Peres is willing to have it so. In apparent agreement with the Vatican, the "heads of the Christian community" in Jerusalem handed the Israeli government at the end of 1994 an unpublished document which also called for the internationalization of Jerusalem.3 In an apparent attempt to assure all sides that he would deal with an even hand, Pope John Paul II declared in an exclusive interview for Parade magazine early in 1994:
We trust that, with the approach of the year 2000, Jerusalem will become the city of peace for the entire world and that all the people will be able to meet there, in particular the believers in the religions that find their birthright in the faith of Abraham [obviously including the Muslims].4
Further confidential disclosures reveal that Jerusalem is to become the "second Vatican of the world," with all three major religions functioning there, as the Pope hinted, under the authority of Rome. A Palestinian state will emerge in confederation with Jordan, with its religious capital being Jerusalem but its administrative capital situated elsewhere, possibly Nablus. Israel's Foreign Ministry justifies this apparent betrayal by promising that Israel's new ties to the Catholic world will lead to trade, tourism, and prosperity and that Catholic governance of Jerusalem will provide a firm hand for quick settlement of future disputes between Jews and Arabs. An announcement coming out of Jordan in late 1994 seemed to confirm the above:

http://israeltoday.co.il/headlines/headlines.asp?CatID=7&ArticleID=910
New Bishop in Jerusalem is Jewish! 22JAN04
For the first time since the Apostle James served as bishop of Jerusalem, the Holy City has a Jewish bishop! Benedictine Abbot Jean-Baptiste Gourion was ordained as the new bishop at the Catholic church in Kiryat Ye’arim, above the Israeli Arab village of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem.

Bishop Gourion will be responsible for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community in Israel, many of whom are of Jewish origin. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the archbishop of Paris who is also a Jew, described Pope John Paul’s appointment of Bishop Gourion as one of prophetic courage. “After such a long time, Jerusalem finally has a Jewish bishop again!” he said.

As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: "Christ has come! Christ has come!" The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying: This is "the great power of God." Acts 8:10.
But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing is pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath shall be poured out.
http://www.sundaylaw.net/books/gc/en/en39.htm

Pay attention. THE COUNCIL OF LAODICEA IN PHRYGIA PACATIANA 364 A.D.
CANON XXIX.
CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.

Look out!!! Heads will be literally rolling once again.

Revelation 6:10,11 "How long... avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ..... they should rest for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
God Bless and preserve you during this time of Jacob's trouble.