“We did not encounter major difficulties because, in the end, we have a common faith in Jesus Christ that we believe in, celebrate, and live,” Khoury said. “The main difficulties were regarding the primacy of the pope, which other churches do not accept, and on the sacraments, which are especially different in the Protestant world, both in number and meaning.” The solution, he said, was to “explain, in the first case, the different ecclesial systems, and in the second, what the sacraments mean for the various churches.”
The same applied to the person of the Virgin Mary.
“We are witnessing an evolution in Protestant churches: There is an increasing acceptance of the figure of Mary, even if only as a biblical figure, and not according to the theology developed in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church,” the priest explained. “That’s why we chose to highlight the biblical figure of Mary.” Other points of dialogue and mediation included images, saints, and dogmas.
For Khoury, the book is a tool that, in the hands of young people, can truly help them live an authentic Christian dimension without losing their individual specificity and belonging. “One cannot be a Christian in the Holy Land without engaging with other churches. It is important to be anchored in one’s own church while being open to other churches, to have an awareness of one’s identity but be open to the other. Others exist, and they too have a long history that we must learn to know, respect, and love,” he said.
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Ecumenism is a challenge, not only in schools but also in the broader Christian life, according to Khoury. “Communities are still closed in on themselves, and often, it is difficult even to consider the presence of others,” he said. Among the churches, “there are more friendly relationships, but not yet true ecumenism: The problems are not really shared and discussed together.”
At the same time, Khoury emphasized that “we must understand that it takes time. In the Holy Land, we have faced many obstacles to inter-church relations, and we carry this wound in our hearts. We have fought against each other, and now we must love one another. It takes time for this vision to enter the hearts of the Christians of the Holy Land, but the process has begun.”
Born and raised in Italy, Marinella Bandini has been a professional journalist since 2008. She works for several news agencies and online newspapers in the Catholic space. Currently based in Jerusalem, she collaborates with the Custody of the Holy Land.