wfn.org | Swedish archbishop says Jerusalem should remain an open city

[franki@elca.org]

JERUSALEM/GENEVA, 15 September 2000 (LWI) - Church of Sweden
Archbishop, K. G. Hammar, on a recent visit to Jerusalem with other
bishops, stressed the importance of letting Jerusalem remain an open
city where the three major world religions can meet.

During the six-day visit, members of the College of Bishops of the
Church of Sweden met with the Israeli President and the Speaker of
the Palestinian Parliament.

At a meeting on August 29 with Israeli's new President Moshe Katsav,
Hammar said: "We are also aware of the wrongs that Christians have
perpetrated throughout history towards the Jewish people. In the
Church of Sweden, we now work towards a deepening of the dialogue
between Christianity and Judaism, and towards an increased
understanding between out two religions."

President Katsav emphasized that Jerusalem is a city open to Jews,
Christians and Muslims, and expressed hope that the work for peace in
the region would continue.

At a meeting on August 30 with the Speaker of the Palestinian
Parliament, Abu-Ala, the bishops were encouraged to influence church
leaders, decision-makers and the Swedish government to work towards
keeping Jerusalem as a city open to all religions.

Abu-Ala said the governance of Jerusalem and the fate of millions of
refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt are the two major issues
to which a solution must be found if lasting peace is to be achieved
between Israel and Palestine.

"It is the mission of the Church to work for peace and justice
between people, and as a Church we have a duty to seek to understand
reality from the perspective of the powerless," the archbishop told
the Speaker.

Hammar stated that the Church of Sweden has been working for 50 years
with the Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) to try and understand the
situation of Palestinians. He expressed anxiety that on-going
peace-negotiations between Israel and Palestine have not yet
succeeded.

Bishop Jonas Jonson, who is also chairman of the Church of Sweden
Mission, spoke of the 50 year-old presence of a Swedish Theological
Institute in Jerusalem, which works for the furtherance of dialogue
between Christianity and Judaism.

The bishops also visited Yad Vashem--a memorial place for Jews who
died in the holocaust--where they laid a wreath.

This was the first time that the College of Bishops was visiting
Jerusalem together as a body.

(A contribution of Johan Hasslow, press secretary, Church of Sweden)

(The LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries
representing over 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF
secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
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