By Alan Wisdom, from Juicy Ecumenicism: The Institute on Religion & Democracy’s Blog:
Over the course of a week last November in Jerusalem, I had the opportunity to participate in conversations with three top church officials there. I joined with others in the Protestant Consultation on Israel and the Middle East in meetings with his Beatitude Theophilus III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Franciscan monk who serves as Roman Catholic Custos of the Holy Land. Separately, I had a chance to talk with the Rev. Canon Hosam Naoum, Dean of the Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem. There was a remarkable convergence in the impressions conveyed by all three. They all spoke gently, choosing their words carefully, not wishing to cause offense. They seemed to be engaged in a balancing act.