Part of the mission statement of the Friars proclaims, “Pain can be healed, Hatred can be turned to Love…” With this in mind, Fr. Jim Loughran, SA, Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute (GEII) which promotes unity, understanding and encourages dialogue between the faiths, recently traveled to Israel to see the effect of the war in the Holy Land and on the people living there. Fr. Jim, Sr. Ruth Lautt, OP and Morris Gurley, Esq., Chairman of the group and an active lay member in the Methodist church, represented Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East and visited Haifa and other

cities in northern Israel affected by the bombing. Amongst these cities were Jerusalem, the Gaza strip and Tent City – a temporary shelter built by an Israeli benefactor to house 6,000 people evacuated from their homes.In visiting the affected areas, Fr. Jim said, “It isn’t making any sense. It’s tragic. There is such hatred and mistrust on all sides. I went because I want them to know that no one is alone in this.” More importantly, Fr. Jim went to listen. To resolve this crisis, he believes it will take dialogue. “What we have learned over the

years from Christian-Jewish dialogue is that dialogue is really about listening. Listening promotes understanding.” Fr. Jim advocates tolerance for all religious groups and points out that within Israel there is dialogue amongst the various faiths living there but there is still work to be done. He adds that this is not solely a conflict between differing religious groups but one that is complicated by differing political groups as well. When Fr. Jim was asked what it was like visiting a country at war, he said, “It isn’t like the pictures you see on the news. There isn’t complete devastation. There isn’t fighting in the streets. We never saw a missile, just the aftereffects.” According to Fr. Jim, most people are going on with their daily lives. In some places they visited, you would never know a war is going on.

But Bethlehem is suffering. “Bethlehem is empty. It’s empty of pilgrims and it is very difficult to get in or out.” Its geographic location during these tense times has economic consequences although it is not affected by the actual fighting. For now, Bethlehem is silent. Fr. Jim believes that it will take the power of prayer and reconciliation to end the ongoing conflict. “It’s about reconciliation which means to listen and understand one another with respect and dignity. People should see each other as human beings and they should start with putting down the guns. It’s about knowing how Islam, Christianity and Judaism teach the same thing – only God has power to take life.” On his journey, Fr. Jim had the opportunity to sit in the Church of the

Holy Sepulcher on the site of Jesus’ tomb, and he prayed and prayed for the atonement to be effective, to bring reconciliation to this land that has always been ruled by the force of arms. “Prayer is vital because there is no easy political solution. Prayer will bring this about. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I have faith that prayer will work because God always answers the prayers of his children. Of all the children of Abraham.”

Fr. Jim in Israel