Head of Catholic order for the Holy Land calls for a ‘just peace’

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnVATICAN CITY (RNS) — Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, stressed that there can be no peace in the Holy Land unless there is justice and the understanding that both sides, Israel and Palestine, have a right to exist.The cardinal spoke on Thursday (March 14) to Vatican journalists, where he discussed the work that his order financially supports in the Holy Land.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre was founded by Pope Pius IX in 1898 with the role of funding and sustaining the Christian community in the Holy Land. Its roughly 30,000 members, knights and dames, are not only bestowed with an honorary title but they are also required to make financial contributions to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Every month, the order collects about 900 euros from members, which amounts to about 15 million euros (over $16 million) a year. The patriarch decides how to administer the money, which is used to support Christian schools, charities and the poor in the Holy Land.
The violent attack by Hamas militants in October and the Israeli invasion of Gaza that followed have led to over 30,000 deaths, the vast majority among Palestinians. Shops are closed and pilgrims have fled, …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]